33rd year AADHIKAR
0225 GMT Thursday 06 June 2013
AADHIKAR Media Foundation Editor © Muhammad Haque
Founding News Editor
Shah M Azizul Haque
AADHIKAR Media Foundation established with the publication of AADHIKAR the weekly on Monday 19 December 1980 from London E1 UK.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! evidential dissection [3] of the rhetorical re-writing by Gordon Brown as witnessed via Bristol this morning Saturday 28 February 2009.
2358 hrs GMT london saturday 28 february 2009: khoodeelaar! no to crossrail hole agenda. no to no say by local people ;el on the actual decisions that are made in the name of local people, at the of local people …khoodeelaar! no to the crossrail agenda is a no to the same agenda that is now vividly seen in the ‘daily news items’ about the behaviour of big business peddlers… no to the agenda of multi billion pound [and dollar and yen and…] robbery of the public by big business.. khoodeelaar! no to all this has been voiced for years.. years when no mainstream media or side-stream media latching on to the coattails of the mainstream had any idea of the accuracy of our analysis… so we are telling gordon brown to pay heed and scrap crossrail.. brown has got it wrong. not only because he miscalculated the ‘electoral aspects of ken Livingstone’;, who had been misleading brown on crossrail by sub-racist anti-scottish slogans pandering to london city-centric big business touts.. brown also misunderstood economics brown is not going to make any difference by staging the next ‘big event’ via the usa houses [Senate and Reps] … for the reality of economics is people and brown has misunderstood the people factor., as he has misunderstood the factor of greed and corruption that are and have been the real spurs and the incentives of the system he wrongly refers to as capable of regulation… brown has misunderstood all these at all levels.,.. and the fact that in the usa there are a similar number or more of similarly confused holders of office being given ‘mainstream media ‘exposure and access and slots does not mean that these propaganda slots will amount to solving the crisis that has been deliberately created and exacerbated by the very offenders with whom, brown and his fellow-travellers are in bed.. policy wise.. and in term s of their continuing misrepresentation of the world… brown cannot be seriously expecting that his re-drafting of the essentially flawed script as delivered from Bristol, England via the bbc and his substitution of the word progressive’ for ‘British’ would;d do the necessary and make people think he has changed is delusional.. he has got to change his attitude and to do that brown will need much more than a change of script wrier.. he also must not underestimate the people in ordinary communities and myst not assume that Tony bliar’s abuse of peoples’ trust – and ‘confidence’ [that word confidence and its associated trust, will come back to haunt brown even more than he appears to know] ...
KHOODEELAAR! telling G Brown after his Bristol performance: NOT impressed! You must scrap Big Business Crossrail scam agenda
1530 Hrs GMT London Saturday 28 February 2009: The persistence of capitalistic, greedy ones’ stubbornness against reason and against evidence prevailed via Gordon Brown this morning [Saturday 28 February 2009] . He again contradicted himself as he acted the scripted spiel at Bristol. The event where Brown played at leading the agenda was supposed to be ‘Labour Policy Forum’. It was no such thing. Ever since Blair abolished the former Labour Party-with Gordon Brown’s active assistance - the Party has ceased to be. Party democracy is most absent when making policy in the name of the former Labour Party. There has been no policy making democracy for ages in what used to be the Labour Party. What is staged every year as a party event in designated spots in the country is in fact an elaborate fakery. And today’s ‘Labour Party Policy Forum’ event at Bristol was equally faked. As all the previous year’s events had been faked. On all the key issues, the policy is made by the cabal that controls the executive. The ordinary party membership is treated with unconcealed contempt. And the ‘main body of membership’ deserves all the contempt that Brown heaps on it. There is no evidence that those who still ill-advisedly style themselves as “Labour Party members” even realise just how far they have acted as zombies in the abolition of what used to be the Labour Party. If they are not zombies and are in fact ‘consciously’ taking part in the charades then their liabilities are many times higher than would be the case if they were simply acting as zombies devoid of consciousness…. The fact that the ‘local’ ‘East London Idiotiser’ [with seriously diminishing circulation and business each week] has in fact been colluding with the Brown-fronted Blaired regime and its locally-sited agents in posing as ‘critics’ of Boris Johnson’s’ stance on ‘Crossrail levy’ is not proof of anyone in the Blaired Party having become aware of their democratic let alone ethical or moral duties to Say No to Crossrail. It is NOT proof that they are discharging any of their duties. Their core duties. It is proof that they are continuing to behave without morality. Without ethics. And against their democratic duties. It also shows their deep stupidity. They stupidly assume that their prancing appearance as ‘critics’ of ‘Boris Johnson’s Crossrail levy’ will be mistaken as being evidence of their ‘critical role on Crossrail’! KHOODFEELAAR! has been CRITICAL of Crossrail for 5 years 1 month now.. NOT a single one of the post seekers or postholders in the CROSSRAIL hole scam-inviting local Tower Hamlets Council has said one single truthful thing against the Crossrail hole scam and agenda in that time of 5 years and 1 month… The KHOODEELAAR! action and campaign in defence of the community in the East End of London has contained 24.7 audit and commentary on the main Big Business Crossrail hole scam agenda AND has provided the most comprehensive commentary on the failures of the Crossrail hole/s scam-inviting clique in control of the Tower Hamlets Council. We have also shown and are continuing to show now the bankruptcy of the Council which has not playe3d and is not likely to play any real opposition of the record against the conduct of the controlling clique masquerading as the ‘local Council’; in Tower Hamlets . And the miasma of its daily misconduct....ALL the key critical points ever truthfully made anywhere in the UK by any real person with real knowledge and experience of the misconduct of their local council will EASILY fit the local Tower Hamlets Council. No amount of self-promotion [involved in as seen in the propaganda and fabrication typified by and in the continuing persistence of the 'East End Lies'] at the expense of the ordinary people in the East End of London can hide the evidence... In fact the behaviour of the alleged opposition Conservatives is in fact and in essence very much conducive to the careerist little agendas of individual’s members of the controlling clique…. There is thus a huge void on the Council. As there has been for more than a decade now.. And that void is seen in the fact that the Council is allowing the Crossrail hole/s scam agenda… KHOODEELAAR! has been pointing out the evidential case against the Council’s role and we shall continue to do so until the agenda is scrapped and the community is democratically, ethically and rightly represented by the Council and by all the others who claim to be in their little posts and slots in the name of the ‘democratic mandate’ of the people in the Borough called Tower Hamlets…. We shall, as part of our defence of the community, challenge any new bid by the Crossrail hole scam-inviting Tower Hamlets Council to justify their new craving for central Government's funding under any excuse… We shall be doing so again later this evening…[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! evidential dissection of the rhetorical re-writing by Gordon Brown as witnessed via Bristol this morning Saturday 28 February 2009.
1335 Hrs GMT London Saturday 28 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! evidential dissection and first notes on the rhetorical re-writing of the script by Gordon Brown as witnessed via Bristol this morning Saturday 28 February 2009. Gordon Brown is not there yet. Not even with the insertion of ‘progressive’ to replace ‘British’ before he repeated the word ‘Vah-loos’. He has not understood the fundamental folly of his ‘economic policies’. He has not admitted the errors of his ways. despite admitting the ‘mistakes’ in his scripted speech this morning… He HAS been letting people and communities down. Despite his claims to contrary this morning. ‘Boosting’ the economy by spending is WRONG. When the rest of his policies constitute a void… His topical, populist utterances about banking too are wrong.. He has been SILENT about the main looting by the banks and by big business.. Brown has been in bed with Big Business at whose behest he is selecting the ‘boosted’ extra spending…That is flawed, flawed and flawed…[To be continued]
AADHIKARonline quoting the item below from the web site of the NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
The tunnelling of Crossrail will damage the capital’s landmark
buildings unless compensation grouting is used to protect them, a
leading geotechnical academic claimed last week.
The up to 10m diameter tunnels and station boxes will be considerably larger than a typical London
Underground station and pose a large threat to the stability of buildings above ground.
University of Cambridge professor of geotechnical engineering Robert Mair told an audience at the Royal
Society in London that compensation grouting is the only solution to safeguard these buildings.
“The most famous example of the successful application of this technique was the protection of Big Ben
from tilting during the construction of Westminster station for the Jubilee Line Extension,” said Mair.
“The landmark was only 36m away from the new station site. Without the use of compensation grouting,construction would have given the structure the Pisa effect.”
KHOODEELAAR! evidential dissection and first notes on the rhetorical re-writing of the script by Gordon Brown as witnessed via Bristol this morning Saturday 28 February 2009. Gordon Brown is not there yet. Not even with the insertion of ‘progressive’ to replace ‘British’ before he repeated the word ‘Vah-loos’. He has not understood the fundamental folly of his ‘economic policies’. He has not admitted the errors of his ways. despite admitting the ‘mistakes’ in his scripted speech this morning… He HAS been letting people and communities down. Despite his claims to contrary this morning. ‘Boosting’ the economy by spending is WRONG. When the rest of his policies constitute a void… His topical, populist utterances about banking too are wrong.. He has been SILENT about the main looting by the banks and by big business.. Brown has been in bed with Big Business at whose behest he is selecting the ‘boosted’ extra spending…That is flawed, flawed and flawed…[To be continued]
AADHIKARonline quoting the item below from the web site of the NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
The tunnelling of Crossrail will damage the capital’s landmark
buildings unless compensation grouting is used to protect them, a
leading geotechnical academic claimed last week.
The up to 10m diameter tunnels and station boxes will be considerably larger than a typical London
Underground station and pose a large threat to the stability of buildings above ground.
University of Cambridge professor of geotechnical engineering Robert Mair told an audience at the Royal
Society in London that compensation grouting is the only solution to safeguard these buildings.
“The most famous example of the successful application of this technique was the protection of Big Ben
from tilting during the construction of Westminster station for the Jubilee Line Extension,” said Mair.
“The landmark was only 36m away from the new station site. Without the use of compensation grouting,construction would have given the structure the Pisa effect.”
Friday, February 27, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD Brown so ! Scrap diversionary, obsolete, wasteful Crossrail -Update [3]
0155 Hrs GMT London Friday 27 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! the inner city East London UK campaign against “the wasteful, the diversionary, the obsolete and the Big Business Scam London Crossrail hole.…“ Told you so! For five years and one month now, we have been telling UK’s Gordon Brown that he had to get out of Big business’ pockets.....
We have told Brown to START doing so by refusing to fund Crossrail... That was an accurate and representative item we chose for our advice to Brown.....
The mess that Brown has now surrounded himself by, could have been averted significantly by his paying due and timely heed to KHOODEELAAR! Brown does not do reasonable listening well. In fact Brown does not do reasonable listening at all... As he has shown over the 10p imposition on the poor, he only does coercion... coercion that comes in the shape of his being in imminent danger of being dislodged...We shall be updating a selection of our warnings from the past 5 years...… [To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! the inner city East London UK campaign against “the wasteful, the diversionary, the obsolete and the Big Business Scam London Crossrail hole.…“ Told you so! For five years and one month now, we have been telling UK’s Gordon Brown that he had to get out of Big business’ pockets.....
We have told Brown to START doing so by refusing to fund Crossrail... That was an accurate and representative item we chose for our advice to Brown.....
The mess that Brown has now surrounded himself by, could have been averted significantly by his paying due and timely heed to KHOODEELAAR! Brown does not do reasonable listening well. In fact Brown does not do reasonable listening at all... As he has shown over the 10p imposition on the poor, he only does coercion... coercion that comes in the shape of his being in imminent danger of being dislodged...We shall be updating a selection of our warnings from the past 5 years...… [To be continued]
Thursday, February 26, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! Scrap diversionary, obsolete, wasteful Crossrail
2120 Hrs GMT London Thursday 26 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! By © Muhammad Haque :
Everything about Brown-fronted Blaired regime in the UK shows that KHOODEELAAR! is spot on to call for the scrapping of diversionary, wasteful Crossrail
That the AGENDA which created the London Crossrail scam was a corrupt, looters’ agenda. One that was contrived to rob the public and to enrich the very small number of individuals at the expense of the public. Everything about the CURRENT activities of the Brown-fronted Blaired regime in the UK shows this to be the case. On a day [Thursday 26 February 2009] when even more evidence emerged of just how incompetent the Brown-fronted Blaired regime has been in democratically and accountably handling the looters masquerading as ‘big Business outfits’ , it was noticeable that the Lib Dems’ Vince Cable was maintaining the policy of political cowardice on behalf of his ‘mainstream’ ‘party’. That word ‘mainstream’ does contain more evidence of collusion than may at first suggest. It is about the status quo. It is about keeping the status quo floating even when the ship is sinking.. As the Lib Dems did when they BACKED the Blairing collusion with the GW Bush-fronted invasion and attacks on Iraq…As observers of the Khoodeelaar! analyses of UK parliament will know by now [after 5 years of KHOODEELAAR! diagnosis of the UK constitution and the examination of the undemocratic and un-robust UK Houses of Parliament]] , we have often asked Cable to go the necessary logical distance and call the Brown-fronted Blaired regime’s bluff. But Cable does not do that. Today, Cable used the word disgraceful as part of his jobbing denunciation of Alistair Darling’s record in the context of so much information showing the robbery of the UK public via the RBS. But Cable stopped there. As did George Osborne, the so-called ‘main’ Opposition counterpart to the existing finance minister ['Chancellor of the Exchequer”]. Between the two of them,. Cable and Osborne allowed the Darling disaster to continue. So ineffectual was Osborne that no sooner had her sat down after making his routine ‘opposition’ comments during A Darling’s appearance in the House of Commons this afternoon than Darling was able to claim that Osborne had been backing the very scam that he was now affecting to condemn…Cable should have gone the distance that Osborne will never do. Call a debate on the entirety of the Brown-fronted regime’s ‘handling of the economy’ and related conduct. Make the now runaway bailout £Billions the key, the corer topic around which the debate should be held…Instead of doing that, both the ‘mainstream’ parties on the Opposition have allowed John McFall to continue to fail.. There is no denying the fact that McFall is an extension of Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown. And his role has not been that which the current issue of ‘Private Eye’ magazine says it to have been. It has been worse. Many times over. McFail is neither intellectually nor ethically nor politically nor organisationally [that is, the composition and remit etc of his select committee - which is a convenient charade and serves the status quo] able to do the job. That Select Committee itself has been a stooge one. Contrary to the apparent ‘robust’ posturing, the Treasury Select Committee has failed… Just as every single select committee is designed to fail… As we have seen on CrossRail. Both "CrossRail Bill" Select committees [in the House of commons and in the House of Lords] were stooged..[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! By © Muhammad Haque :
Everything about Brown-fronted Blaired regime in the UK shows that KHOODEELAAR! is spot on to call for the scrapping of diversionary, wasteful Crossrail
That the AGENDA which created the London Crossrail scam was a corrupt, looters’ agenda. One that was contrived to rob the public and to enrich the very small number of individuals at the expense of the public. Everything about the CURRENT activities of the Brown-fronted Blaired regime in the UK shows this to be the case. On a day [Thursday 26 February 2009] when even more evidence emerged of just how incompetent the Brown-fronted Blaired regime has been in democratically and accountably handling the looters masquerading as ‘big Business outfits’ , it was noticeable that the Lib Dems’ Vince Cable was maintaining the policy of political cowardice on behalf of his ‘mainstream’ ‘party’. That word ‘mainstream’ does contain more evidence of collusion than may at first suggest. It is about the status quo. It is about keeping the status quo floating even when the ship is sinking.. As the Lib Dems did when they BACKED the Blairing collusion with the GW Bush-fronted invasion and attacks on Iraq…As observers of the Khoodeelaar! analyses of UK parliament will know by now [after 5 years of KHOODEELAAR! diagnosis of the UK constitution and the examination of the undemocratic and un-robust UK Houses of Parliament]] , we have often asked Cable to go the necessary logical distance and call the Brown-fronted Blaired regime’s bluff. But Cable does not do that. Today, Cable used the word disgraceful as part of his jobbing denunciation of Alistair Darling’s record in the context of so much information showing the robbery of the UK public via the RBS. But Cable stopped there. As did George Osborne, the so-called ‘main’ Opposition counterpart to the existing finance minister ['Chancellor of the Exchequer”]. Between the two of them,. Cable and Osborne allowed the Darling disaster to continue. So ineffectual was Osborne that no sooner had her sat down after making his routine ‘opposition’ comments during A Darling’s appearance in the House of Commons this afternoon than Darling was able to claim that Osborne had been backing the very scam that he was now affecting to condemn…Cable should have gone the distance that Osborne will never do. Call a debate on the entirety of the Brown-fronted regime’s ‘handling of the economy’ and related conduct. Make the now runaway bailout £Billions the key, the corer topic around which the debate should be held…Instead of doing that, both the ‘mainstream’ parties on the Opposition have allowed John McFall to continue to fail.. There is no denying the fact that McFall is an extension of Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown. And his role has not been that which the current issue of ‘Private Eye’ magazine says it to have been. It has been worse. Many times over. McFail is neither intellectually nor ethically nor politically nor organisationally [that is, the composition and remit etc of his select committee - which is a convenient charade and serves the status quo] able to do the job. That Select Committee itself has been a stooge one. Contrary to the apparent ‘robust’ posturing, the Treasury Select Committee has failed… Just as every single select committee is designed to fail… As we have seen on CrossRail. Both "CrossRail Bill" Select committees [in the House of commons and in the House of Lords] were stooged..[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! at 1235 GMT And the UK Opposition Finance spokesman has just echoed, at 1242 Hrs GMT our analysis, ALMOST word for word!
1248 Hrs GMT London Thursday 26 February 2009
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! at 1235 GMT And the UK Opposition Finance spokesman has just echoed, at 1242 Hrs GMT our analysis, ALMOST word for word! In EFFECT word for word!
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! at 1235 GMT And the UK Opposition Finance spokesman has just echoed, at 1242 Hrs GMT our analysis, ALMOST word for word! In EFFECT word for word!
KHOODEELAAR! words and phrases being echoed by campaigners against Royal Mail privatisation...[2]
KHOODEELAAR! words and phrases being echoed by campaigners against Royal Mail privatisation...[2]
From The Times
February 26, 2009
Lord Mandelson tries to stall Royal Mail postal rebellion
Philip Webster, Political Editor
Royal Mail will be able to charge its rivals more for delivering their letters and parcels to customers' doorsteps under measures intended to counter the biggest revolt of Gordon Brown's leadership.
With rebellion over the proposed sale of a stake in the business spreading to ministerial ranks, Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, will also promise today to enshrine in law that the company is and must remain in majority public control.
Postcomm, the present regulator, will be scrapped, and the new regulator, Ofcom, will be expected to grant a more favourable pricing regime to Royal Mail. It will have a duty to maintain the universal service obligation under which letters are delivered anywhere in the United Kingdom six days a week for a single affordable price.
In an important change demanded by many Labour MPs, it will be told to put Royal Mail on a “level playing field” with its overseas competitors in terms of pricing.
RELATED LINKS
Royal Mail chief warns of huge cash problem
Tories pledge support for Royal Mail sell-off
Mail operators have long had access to each other's networks, but Royal Mail, the unions and Labour MPs have complained that competitors are unfairly subsidised by the cap on what it can charge them for delivering letters “the final mile” to customers. The operator argues that this costs it £100million a year.
Royal Mail charges foreign operators, such as the Dutch company TNT, 13p an item for the delivery from sorting office to letterbox. The private operator might have a contract with a business to deliver thousands of letters in, for example, Manchester. It would drop all of them at the Manchester sorting office with Royal Mail charging 13p for each - a figure that it claims is unfairly low.
The regulator will decide whether that is the case and may demand efficiencies from Royal Mail. However, if it decides that an unduly low charge is being paid, it will allow Royal Mail to ask for more.
The move may lead to claims that the Government is prepared to see competition wither, and that foreign operators could be scared off by higher charges. Relaxing price controls on Royal Mail could mean that businesses using outside delivery companies - such as TNT - might face higher charges. For the ordinary customer there will be the assurance that the standardised six-day delivery should be guaranteed, but there will be no guarantee that prices will not go up. A first-class stamp now costs 36p.
Pat McFadden, the Post Office Minister, told The Times: “I do not believe competition will go away. That will not be the case. But we want it to be on a level playing field. We are putting in legislation the overriding principle that competition shall be conducted in a way that supports the universal service obligation.”
It will also be written into the legislation that the Post Office will remain in Government hands.
Lord Mandelson pushed ahead with introducing the Bill in the Lords yesterday despite a last-minute Cabinet wrangle over the timetable. It will be published today.
Ministers argued in the Cabinet's Legislation Committee on Tuesday that the present timetable meant that the crucial vote in the Commons would come in the early summer, just as the parties are preparing for European and local elections. But suggestions, apparently from Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, that the process might be delayed met with short shrift from Mr Brown and Lord Mandelson.
“There was an uncomfortable two hours before Gordon sorted them out,” an informed source told The Times. Ms Harman was again privately accused of grandstanding by some ministers.
Today's concessions are unlikely to buy off the rebellion, although some MPs will be relieved that the Government is moving towards them.
One minister said yesterday: “The atmosphere now is hot. People are not going to suddenly say they are all happy. But they will see that we are aiming to meet the points we have been raising. They can no longer say this is the first step towards us privatising the whole thing. In law this will remain a publicly owned organisation and that can only be changed by new primary legislation.”
HAVE YOUR SAY
Maybe deliveries to scattered houses will have to be made to boxes on the roadside to save considerable time and cost. This is common elsewhere in the world.
james, London,
Example: competitor collects mail in London, takes to hub,sorts the mail, takes to outward depot in Glasgow and delivers to Royal Mail's local sorting office for about 3p and then Royal Mail gets nearly 16p (13p was 5 years ago !) to do the final mile. Now tell me who's getting the best deal !
john, Newtownards, UK
Royal Mail delivers post for standard charges nationwide. Privately owned this would not happen and rural and isolated communuities would lose out. Manage it better, quit political intervention and fund it. It can't be privatised without sweeteners from the taxpayer.
Robert, Hartlepool, UK
Read all 8 comments
HAVE YOUR SAY
Government moves to fend off Royal Mail plan criticism
Published Date: 26 February 2009
THE Government was today set to head off growing criticism of its plan to part privatise the Royal Mail by pledging to enshrine in law that the organisation will remain publicly owned.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson was set to publish the Postal Services Bill. The move has sparked a huge revolt by Labour MPs.
Lord Mandelson was to address some of the opponents of his plan by revealing further legislation would be needed to change Royal Mail's ownership.
From The Times
February 26, 2009
Lord Mandelson tries to stall Royal Mail postal rebellion
Philip Webster, Political Editor
Royal Mail will be able to charge its rivals more for delivering their letters and parcels to customers' doorsteps under measures intended to counter the biggest revolt of Gordon Brown's leadership.
With rebellion over the proposed sale of a stake in the business spreading to ministerial ranks, Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, will also promise today to enshrine in law that the company is and must remain in majority public control.
Postcomm, the present regulator, will be scrapped, and the new regulator, Ofcom, will be expected to grant a more favourable pricing regime to Royal Mail. It will have a duty to maintain the universal service obligation under which letters are delivered anywhere in the United Kingdom six days a week for a single affordable price.
In an important change demanded by many Labour MPs, it will be told to put Royal Mail on a “level playing field” with its overseas competitors in terms of pricing.
RELATED LINKS
Royal Mail chief warns of huge cash problem
Tories pledge support for Royal Mail sell-off
Mail operators have long had access to each other's networks, but Royal Mail, the unions and Labour MPs have complained that competitors are unfairly subsidised by the cap on what it can charge them for delivering letters “the final mile” to customers. The operator argues that this costs it £100million a year.
Royal Mail charges foreign operators, such as the Dutch company TNT, 13p an item for the delivery from sorting office to letterbox. The private operator might have a contract with a business to deliver thousands of letters in, for example, Manchester. It would drop all of them at the Manchester sorting office with Royal Mail charging 13p for each - a figure that it claims is unfairly low.
The regulator will decide whether that is the case and may demand efficiencies from Royal Mail. However, if it decides that an unduly low charge is being paid, it will allow Royal Mail to ask for more.
The move may lead to claims that the Government is prepared to see competition wither, and that foreign operators could be scared off by higher charges. Relaxing price controls on Royal Mail could mean that businesses using outside delivery companies - such as TNT - might face higher charges. For the ordinary customer there will be the assurance that the standardised six-day delivery should be guaranteed, but there will be no guarantee that prices will not go up. A first-class stamp now costs 36p.
Pat McFadden, the Post Office Minister, told The Times: “I do not believe competition will go away. That will not be the case. But we want it to be on a level playing field. We are putting in legislation the overriding principle that competition shall be conducted in a way that supports the universal service obligation.”
It will also be written into the legislation that the Post Office will remain in Government hands.
Lord Mandelson pushed ahead with introducing the Bill in the Lords yesterday despite a last-minute Cabinet wrangle over the timetable. It will be published today.
Ministers argued in the Cabinet's Legislation Committee on Tuesday that the present timetable meant that the crucial vote in the Commons would come in the early summer, just as the parties are preparing for European and local elections. But suggestions, apparently from Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, that the process might be delayed met with short shrift from Mr Brown and Lord Mandelson.
“There was an uncomfortable two hours before Gordon sorted them out,” an informed source told The Times. Ms Harman was again privately accused of grandstanding by some ministers.
Today's concessions are unlikely to buy off the rebellion, although some MPs will be relieved that the Government is moving towards them.
One minister said yesterday: “The atmosphere now is hot. People are not going to suddenly say they are all happy. But they will see that we are aiming to meet the points we have been raising. They can no longer say this is the first step towards us privatising the whole thing. In law this will remain a publicly owned organisation and that can only be changed by new primary legislation.”
HAVE YOUR SAY
Maybe deliveries to scattered houses will have to be made to boxes on the roadside to save considerable time and cost. This is common elsewhere in the world.
james, London,
Example: competitor collects mail in London, takes to hub,sorts the mail, takes to outward depot in Glasgow and delivers to Royal Mail's local sorting office for about 3p and then Royal Mail gets nearly 16p (13p was 5 years ago !) to do the final mile. Now tell me who's getting the best deal !
john, Newtownards, UK
Royal Mail delivers post for standard charges nationwide. Privately owned this would not happen and rural and isolated communuities would lose out. Manage it better, quit political intervention and fund it. It can't be privatised without sweeteners from the taxpayer.
Robert, Hartlepool, UK
Read all 8 comments
HAVE YOUR SAY
Government moves to fend off Royal Mail plan criticism
Published Date: 26 February 2009
THE Government was today set to head off growing criticism of its plan to part privatise the Royal Mail by pledging to enshrine in law that the organisation will remain publicly owned.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson was set to publish the Postal Services Bill. The move has sparked a huge revolt by Labour MPs.
Lord Mandelson was to address some of the opponents of his plan by revealing further legislation would be needed to change Royal Mail's ownership.
KHOODEELAAR! words and phrases being echoed by campaigners against Royal Mail privatisation...
1135 GMT London Thursday 26 February 2009
KHOODEELAAR! words and phrases being echoed by campaigners against Royal Mail privatisation...
[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! words and phrases being echoed by campaigners against Royal Mail privatisation...
[To be continued]
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! TfL incompetence, wastefulness and crassness exposed over Tim O'Toole 'resignation'
From The Times
February 25, 2009
Tim O’Toole resigns from London Underground amid row over £5bn shortfall
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
The man overseeing the upgrade and expansion of London Underground has resigned amid a growing row over a £5 billion shortfall in the public funding for the project.
Tim O’Toole, the Underground’s managing director, will return to his native United States at a critical time for the network, when plans to relieve overcrowding on several lines are hanging in the balance.
His decision is a blow to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who was counting on Mr O’Toole’s experience and skills to ensure that as much of the upgrade as possible survived the funding squeeze.
Mr O’Toole, 54, had also made veiled attacks on Gordon Brown’s failure to fulfil promises made when, as Chancellor, he forced through part-privatisation of the Tube six years ago.
RELATED LINKS
ANALYSIS: taxpayer will pay in the end
Rail groups ordered to cut commuter fares
Tube staff docked pay for snow day
The District, Circle, Metropolitan, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines are all due to have about 20-30 per cent more trains per hour added over the next few years. But plans to buy more trains and replace the signalling to allow for the expansion are now in doubt.
The collapse of Metronet, one of two companies appointed by the Government to maintain and upgrade the Tube, has left London Underground struggling to find the money to complete the work it was contracted to do.
LU is cutting 1,000 jobs and delaying station refurbishments. Mr Johnson insists the Tube upgrade is his top priority but his decision to fund Crossrail, a new main line railway due to be built under central London by 2017, means extra capacity on existing underground lines may be sacrificed.
The official reason given for Mr O’Toole’s resignation is that he wants to spend more time with his wife and two grown-up children back in the US. But they have always lived in the US during Mr O’Toole’s six years at LU and, until now, he was happy to return at regular intervals to visit them.
Mr O’Toole, who ran one of the biggest freight train companies in the US, was recruited by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor. He is the last of the senior Americans at Transport for London who were dubbed “Kiley’s People” after Bob Kiley, the New York subway boss whom Mr Livingston recruited as Commissioner of Transport for London.
Mr O’Toole, who was on a salary of £450,000, said last night: “I am sad to leave LU but after six years in London it is time to go home. LU’s customers and employees can look forward to the continuing transformation of the Tube with the delivery of major projects between now and the London 2012 games. I am particularly proud that LU employees have achieved record operating results and all-time high levels of customer satisfaction in this past year. I shall always be grateful for the privilege of being part of such a great institution.” Mr Johnson said: “I fully understand Tim’s desire to return home after six years serving London. During that time he has led from the front and made huge progress in delivering an improved Tube after decades of under investment. Tim has been a magnificent public servant and we will build on the fantastic legacy he leaves in the years ahead. I wish him and his family all the very best.” Peter Hendy, London’s Commissioner of Transport, said:
“Tim has led LU to its highest levels of performance while carrying record numbers of passengers - all at a time of great change as billions are invested to improve the Tube. His leadership was exemplified by getting London moving again so quickly after the terrorist attacks of July 2005. We will greatly miss him as a colleague and I will miss him as a friend.” Mr O’Toole will step down from LU at the end of April. His resignation clearly caught TfL by surprise. A spokesman said Mr O’Toole’s role “will be advertised shortly”.
HAVE YOUR SAY
February 25, 2009
Tim O’Toole resigns from London Underground amid row over £5bn shortfall
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
The man overseeing the upgrade and expansion of London Underground has resigned amid a growing row over a £5 billion shortfall in the public funding for the project.
Tim O’Toole, the Underground’s managing director, will return to his native United States at a critical time for the network, when plans to relieve overcrowding on several lines are hanging in the balance.
His decision is a blow to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who was counting on Mr O’Toole’s experience and skills to ensure that as much of the upgrade as possible survived the funding squeeze.
Mr O’Toole, 54, had also made veiled attacks on Gordon Brown’s failure to fulfil promises made when, as Chancellor, he forced through part-privatisation of the Tube six years ago.
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ANALYSIS: taxpayer will pay in the end
Rail groups ordered to cut commuter fares
Tube staff docked pay for snow day
The District, Circle, Metropolitan, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines are all due to have about 20-30 per cent more trains per hour added over the next few years. But plans to buy more trains and replace the signalling to allow for the expansion are now in doubt.
The collapse of Metronet, one of two companies appointed by the Government to maintain and upgrade the Tube, has left London Underground struggling to find the money to complete the work it was contracted to do.
LU is cutting 1,000 jobs and delaying station refurbishments. Mr Johnson insists the Tube upgrade is his top priority but his decision to fund Crossrail, a new main line railway due to be built under central London by 2017, means extra capacity on existing underground lines may be sacrificed.
The official reason given for Mr O’Toole’s resignation is that he wants to spend more time with his wife and two grown-up children back in the US. But they have always lived in the US during Mr O’Toole’s six years at LU and, until now, he was happy to return at regular intervals to visit them.
Mr O’Toole, who ran one of the biggest freight train companies in the US, was recruited by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor. He is the last of the senior Americans at Transport for London who were dubbed “Kiley’s People” after Bob Kiley, the New York subway boss whom Mr Livingston recruited as Commissioner of Transport for London.
Mr O’Toole, who was on a salary of £450,000, said last night: “I am sad to leave LU but after six years in London it is time to go home. LU’s customers and employees can look forward to the continuing transformation of the Tube with the delivery of major projects between now and the London 2012 games. I am particularly proud that LU employees have achieved record operating results and all-time high levels of customer satisfaction in this past year. I shall always be grateful for the privilege of being part of such a great institution.” Mr Johnson said: “I fully understand Tim’s desire to return home after six years serving London. During that time he has led from the front and made huge progress in delivering an improved Tube after decades of under investment. Tim has been a magnificent public servant and we will build on the fantastic legacy he leaves in the years ahead. I wish him and his family all the very best.” Peter Hendy, London’s Commissioner of Transport, said:
“Tim has led LU to its highest levels of performance while carrying record numbers of passengers - all at a time of great change as billions are invested to improve the Tube. His leadership was exemplified by getting London moving again so quickly after the terrorist attacks of July 2005. We will greatly miss him as a colleague and I will miss him as a friend.” Mr O’Toole will step down from LU at the end of April. His resignation clearly caught TfL by surprise. A spokesman said Mr O’Toole’s role “will be advertised shortly”.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! noting Peter Hain's admission: that Brown's policies are ludicrous! Come on P Hain: Say it. say Crossrail is crass!
"Peter Hain isn't bothered about not being in government
By Matt Withers on Feb 24, 09 09:58 AM
It's now two-and-a-half months since former Welsh Secretary No Job Peter Hain was cleared over those donations made to his Labour deputy leadership via a think-tank which hadn't done any thinking.
At the time, he made it clear to any media outlet within bellowing distance he was keen to return to the warm embrace of government. "I only left government to clear this up, and would like to return," he said. "but that is a matter for the Prime Minister."
That was then. But he's had time to think about it now, and perhaps realised he isn't going to get the call anytime soon. And you know what? He ain't bothered...
Mr Hain admitted that "ludicrous and unfair" policies pursued by the Labour Government had in part contributed to the problems faced by Royal Mail.
"We had a ludicrous and unfair system of promoting collection which I'm afraid our government has been responsible for," he said, adding the government "effectively dumped all the costly mail on the Royal Mail" while competitors concentrated on more profitable services.
"It has been disastrous. What it has done is undermine the Royal Mail's ability to maintain a universal service obligation to deliver anywhere on any day for a given price."
Look at his face. Look at it. Does he look bothered? Does he?"
By Matt Withers on Feb 24, 09 09:58 AM
It's now two-and-a-half months since former Welsh Secretary No Job Peter Hain was cleared over those donations made to his Labour deputy leadership via a think-tank which hadn't done any thinking.
At the time, he made it clear to any media outlet within bellowing distance he was keen to return to the warm embrace of government. "I only left government to clear this up, and would like to return," he said. "but that is a matter for the Prime Minister."
That was then. But he's had time to think about it now, and perhaps realised he isn't going to get the call anytime soon. And you know what? He ain't bothered...
Mr Hain admitted that "ludicrous and unfair" policies pursued by the Labour Government had in part contributed to the problems faced by Royal Mail.
"We had a ludicrous and unfair system of promoting collection which I'm afraid our government has been responsible for," he said, adding the government "effectively dumped all the costly mail on the Royal Mail" while competitors concentrated on more profitable services.
"It has been disastrous. What it has done is undermine the Royal Mail's ability to maintain a universal service obligation to deliver anywhere on any day for a given price."
Look at his face. Look at it. Does he look bothered? Does he?"
Khoodeelaar! noting the evidence of the latest crass behaviour by Transport for London. The publication of a ‘dedicated web site’ to plug Xrail lies
1615 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 24 February 2009: Khoodeelaar! noting the evidence of the latest crass behaviour by Transport for London. The publication of a ‘dedicated web site’ to promote Crossrail. They are lying already, by calling it ‘independent’. Khoodeelaar! will be publishing further comments on this...
Khoodeelaar! noting the evidence of the latest crass behaviour by Transport for London. The publication of a ‘dedicated web site’ to plug Xrail lies
1615 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 24 February 2009: Khoodeelaar! noting the evidence of the latest crass behaviour by Transport for London. The publication of a ‘dedicated web site’ to promote Crossrail. They are lying already, by calling it ‘independent’. Khoodeelaar! will be publishing further comments on this...
KHOODEELAAR! Evidential note and commentary on the BBC reporting on the alleged surprise on the part of UK press at claims of human rights violations
By © Muhammad Haque
London 0845 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 24 February 2009
KHOODEELAAR! Evidential note and commentary on the BBC reporting on the alleged surprise on the part of UK press at claims of human rights violations....
What is the ‘alleged surprise’ about?
It is about the KHOODEELAAR! point that the allegations as made by the just-returned detainee through his ‘lawyers’ on Monday 23 February 2009 could not possibly be new or unknown until then.
The SAME principle objectively applies to the actual agenda that is followed by and through the ‘mainstream’ [and the sub-streams and side-steams] of the ‘British media’ and the media in Britain.
The same also applies to the agenda as followed by the BBC.
The fact that these various outfits are organizationally [as in their administrations] different from one another does not at all mean that they are ideologically different.
The ideology that allows the operation of Big Business Military Industrial Complex in the UK and at the expense of the needs and the rights and the entitlements of ordinary people is also the ideology that allows the collusion by the media and by the BBC with the suppression of day to day truth. It allows the BBC to lie on the little things. It allows the mammoth BBC brainwashing programme to go on daily.
The denial of the truth is maintained via the BBC putting on shows that bear superficial resemblance to truth while persistently suppressing the truth.
As happened during the rubber stamping of the Crossrail Big Business scam through the UK Parliament.
Today’s BBC fakery about the fakery of the ‘British press’ on the alleged allegations about Guantanamo Bay is an example of the untruthful role the BBC is in place to perform
Guantanamo Bay detention centre had been about torture and other human rights abuses.
Any self-respecting, truth-telling newspaper of the ‘democratic, western, civilised’ world would have known of those…
So the feigning of surprise and the stuffing of the papers’ spaces with the incidental reference to the atrocities and the violations are continuing the lying….
And that actually does exactly what Guantanamo was doing – violating human rights and everything that goes with the values of human rights…
KHOODEELAAR! is making the evidential note as another item of evidence of the bias against telling the truth that dominates the UK press. And the BBC.
This applies to internal UK constitutional and the role of the UK executive and of the Opposition.
Overall, the culture is of suppressing the truth and of only telling the truth under pressure.
Not good enough.
The British media does behave in this persistently dishonest, duplicitous way that directly denies the principles of democracy and exposes as a sham the claims the media makes of being all for democracy and transparency and truth…
[To be continued]
From BBC online:
24 February 2009
"
Guantanamo debate occupies papers
The newspapers all focus on former Guantanamo Bay inmate Binyam Mohamed, who has flown back to the UK.
According to the Times, the US prison camp was an affront to the world, and its inmates must now find justice.
However, it says, that does not mean making Mr Mohamed a hero. But there is no danger of that from the Daily Mail.
According to its columnist Richard Littlejohn, the "usual useful idiots" will have a field day with the case, filling their boots with legal aid.
Bricks and mortar
The Daily Express vents its outrage that managers at the nationalised bank Northern Rock are getting bonuses.
Still having a job, it says, is quite enough of a bonus to be going on with.
The Guardian's Polly Toynbee thinks pent-up demand for housing is still high because property speculation is hardwired into the British brain.
She calls for a tax on future gains. But suggest that to MPs, she complains, and they blanche, "even while agreeing that it should be done in theory".
Van damned?
The papers focus on the troubled van manufacturer LDV - and its Russian owner Oleg Deripaska, a friend of Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
A report in the Independent insists that the government is "not prepared to contemplate a bailout".
But the Daily Mirror advises ministers against playing "Russian Roulette with 6,000 jobs in the motor industry".
It warns of angry workers "who see billions loaned to reckless banks but see their own appeals roundly ignored".
Hollywood magic
Every title is filled with pictures from the 2009 Oscars ceremony.
All agree with the Daily Telegraph - "it was a great night for the Brits", Slumdog Millionaire winning eight gongs and Kate Winslet scooping best actress.
"Britain's fabulous night at the Oscars," says the Sun, "was a scriptwriter's fantasy come true."
The night was, it adds, "a reminder in these tough times that, with grit, energy and a touch of genius, we can still lead the world where it counts".
"
London 0845 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 24 February 2009
KHOODEELAAR! Evidential note and commentary on the BBC reporting on the alleged surprise on the part of UK press at claims of human rights violations....
What is the ‘alleged surprise’ about?
It is about the KHOODEELAAR! point that the allegations as made by the just-returned detainee through his ‘lawyers’ on Monday 23 February 2009 could not possibly be new or unknown until then.
The SAME principle objectively applies to the actual agenda that is followed by and through the ‘mainstream’ [and the sub-streams and side-steams] of the ‘British media’ and the media in Britain.
The same also applies to the agenda as followed by the BBC.
The fact that these various outfits are organizationally [as in their administrations] different from one another does not at all mean that they are ideologically different.
The ideology that allows the operation of Big Business Military Industrial Complex in the UK and at the expense of the needs and the rights and the entitlements of ordinary people is also the ideology that allows the collusion by the media and by the BBC with the suppression of day to day truth. It allows the BBC to lie on the little things. It allows the mammoth BBC brainwashing programme to go on daily.
The denial of the truth is maintained via the BBC putting on shows that bear superficial resemblance to truth while persistently suppressing the truth.
As happened during the rubber stamping of the Crossrail Big Business scam through the UK Parliament.
Today’s BBC fakery about the fakery of the ‘British press’ on the alleged allegations about Guantanamo Bay is an example of the untruthful role the BBC is in place to perform
Guantanamo Bay detention centre had been about torture and other human rights abuses.
Any self-respecting, truth-telling newspaper of the ‘democratic, western, civilised’ world would have known of those…
So the feigning of surprise and the stuffing of the papers’ spaces with the incidental reference to the atrocities and the violations are continuing the lying….
And that actually does exactly what Guantanamo was doing – violating human rights and everything that goes with the values of human rights…
KHOODEELAAR! is making the evidential note as another item of evidence of the bias against telling the truth that dominates the UK press. And the BBC.
This applies to internal UK constitutional and the role of the UK executive and of the Opposition.
Overall, the culture is of suppressing the truth and of only telling the truth under pressure.
Not good enough.
The British media does behave in this persistently dishonest, duplicitous way that directly denies the principles of democracy and exposes as a sham the claims the media makes of being all for democracy and transparency and truth…
[To be continued]
From BBC online:
24 February 2009
"
Guantanamo debate occupies papers
The newspapers all focus on former Guantanamo Bay inmate Binyam Mohamed, who has flown back to the UK.
According to the Times, the US prison camp was an affront to the world, and its inmates must now find justice.
However, it says, that does not mean making Mr Mohamed a hero. But there is no danger of that from the Daily Mail.
According to its columnist Richard Littlejohn, the "usual useful idiots" will have a field day with the case, filling their boots with legal aid.
Bricks and mortar
The Daily Express vents its outrage that managers at the nationalised bank Northern Rock are getting bonuses.
Still having a job, it says, is quite enough of a bonus to be going on with.
The Guardian's Polly Toynbee thinks pent-up demand for housing is still high because property speculation is hardwired into the British brain.
She calls for a tax on future gains. But suggest that to MPs, she complains, and they blanche, "even while agreeing that it should be done in theory".
Van damned?
The papers focus on the troubled van manufacturer LDV - and its Russian owner Oleg Deripaska, a friend of Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
A report in the Independent insists that the government is "not prepared to contemplate a bailout".
But the Daily Mirror advises ministers against playing "Russian Roulette with 6,000 jobs in the motor industry".
It warns of angry workers "who see billions loaned to reckless banks but see their own appeals roundly ignored".
Hollywood magic
Every title is filled with pictures from the 2009 Oscars ceremony.
All agree with the Daily Telegraph - "it was a great night for the Brits", Slumdog Millionaire winning eight gongs and Kate Winslet scooping best actress.
"Britain's fabulous night at the Oscars," says the Sun, "was a scriptwriter's fantasy come true."
The night was, it adds, "a reminder in these tough times that, with grit, energy and a touch of genius, we can still lead the world where it counts".
"
KHOODEELAAR! Evidential note on Boris Johnson's 'policy' and lack of policy. And on how Boris Johnson can scrap schemes, measures...
0630 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 24 February 2009:
From the web site of the London EVENING STANDARD
"
Tell us, Boris, how you'll stop jams when the C-charge extension goes
David Williams and Katharine Barney
20.02.09 Look here too
Commentary: The Mayor needs a Plan B to avoid getting stuck in traffic problem
%3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3Ciframe%20src%3D%22http%3A//iad.anm.co.uk/CROP118118/MiniSkyscriptStand.html%22%20width%3D%22120%22%20height%3D%22600%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20marginheight%3D%220%22%20marginwidth%3D%220%22%20topmargin%3D%220%22%20leftmargin%3D%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//ads.anm.co.uk/IMPCNT/ccid%3D68724/pos%3D2/AAMSZ%3D120x600/SITE%3DSTANDARD/AREA%3DEVENINGSTANDARD/SUBAREA%3DNEWS/ARTICLE%3DARTICLE%3D23648002/CONTENT%3D/acc_random%3D3406002887/pageid%3D/RS%3D%22%20width%3D%221%22%20height%3D%221%22%20border%3D%220%22%20style%3D%22display%3Anone%22%20/%3E%3C/div%3E
Mayor Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure today to explain how he will tackle traffic congestion.
He has pledged to scrap the western extension zone to the congestion charge next year after a public consultation overwhelmingly called for it to go.
But experts warned today that its removal will lead to soaring traffic on key west London routes.
Critics say traffic speeds in the "old" zone have now fallen to pre-charging levels and warn that a financial "black hole" of up to £70million could spark a further round of bus fare rises.
Green campaigners and health experts also claim that scrapping the zone will lead to increased pollution and could put cyclists at risk from increased traffic.
The row coincides with the sixth anniversary of the launch of the original zone this week and with the second anniversary of the western extension - which stretches from Park Lane to Earl's Court.
Today conservation group the Knightsbridge Association called on Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to ensure London's air quality is not worsened by scrapping the extension.
Transport for London admits withdrawing the zone could see congestion rise by up to 25 per cent.
Association spokesman Simon Birkett said: "London's air quality is already breaking legal limits. Shutting down the western extension zone could make it worse, meaning big fines from Europe for the UK. We need to know how the Mayor will tackle this.
"If as a result of scrapping the zone vehicles are trapped in slow-moving traffic, emissions will be even worse."
But small businesses and residents are urging the Mayor not to backtrack on his decision, and say they are losing trade for every day the charging zone remains in place.
Six out of 10 London companies believe the congestion charge is harming their prospects and even want the original zone to be reconsidered, according to a survey from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Green campaigners accuse business leaders of putting cash before the environment. London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson said: "The congestion charge has been an incredibly successful method of traffic reduction. Scrapping the extension will almost certainly lead to a sharp rise in traffic, more congestion, more air pollution.
"This is bad news not only for pedestrians and cyclists, but also for anyone travelling in London and everyone who breathes London's air." The party also said bus fares may have to rise to cope with a drop in income.
Neil Churchill, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: "Scrapping the extension will be a disaster for the health of 430,000 people in London whose asthma is triggered by traffic pollution."
The Knightsbridge Association is advising the Mayor to beat the increased pollution risk by introducing a new inner-city low emission zone. It is also calling for the central congestion charge to be switched to a "tag and beacon" scheme that would bill drivers according to the time of day and length of time spent in the zone.
TfL claims congestion will be kept under control by rephased traffic lights and the fact that motorcycles are now allowed into bus lanes.
It is working with Thames Water to reduce the impact of replacing miles of Victorian mains and said it would launch a scheme allowing roadworks to be "properly co-ordinated". A TfL spokesman said the plan to put 6,000 bikes on the streets for hire from 2010 would also help.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "The Mayor is working with TfL on a range of measures to reduce emissions. Moreover, our focus is firmly on ...encouraging Londoners to swap car use for public transport, cycling, and walking."
Differing views on the congestion charge
Yuliya Zakharenko, 34
My Favourite Thing clothes shop, Kensington Church Street
“The congestion charge has made the street really quiet. Not a lot of people just come in off the street to browse the shop.
I probably get 30 per cent fewer customers than I would get if there was no charge. I'm not sure it would have been possible to survive without my pool of customers because the recession coupled with the congestion charge makes things extremely difficult.”
Eileen Trippier, 59
Kensington Lighting Company shop, Kensington Church Street.
“We take so many calls from people who ask if we are in the congestion zone. When we tell them we are, it really puts them off. I'm delighted the Mayor has moved to scrap the charge, but it needs to be done immediately. Next year may be too late.”
Alyson Lawrence, 48
Lev Antiques, Kensington Church Street
“We have 25 per cent fewer customers than we did before the charge came into place. Unfortunately, I live just outside the congestion zone and it is incredibly inconvenient for me. I often have to ferry antiques around by public transport.”
David Powell
Transport campaigner, Friends of the Earth
“The London congestion charge, backed by massive investment in public transport, has slashed carbon dioxide emissions and improved air quality in the city. The western extension stopped 30,000 cars going into the area every day, as people opted for greener alternatives like buses, cycling and walking.”
Steve McNamara
London Taxi Drivers Association
“When the western extension zone came in, levels of traffic in the old, central charging zone worsened by 10-15 per cent as west London residents who had previously got buses or cabs into central London drove their cars instead, as they now had residents' discounts. When it goes, traffic in the western area will be a bit worse but not much overall, we believe.”
Tim Hockney
Congestion expert, London First
“We would have preferred the western extension zone to have been scaled down to mornings only rather than being scrapped. We are concerned about the worsening of commuter through-traffic in west London and congestion hot spots developing on key routes when the extension zone goes.”
Link to:
Reader views (37) Add your view | Show all
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Firstly Boris has NOT carried out the OFFICIAL Consultation on the Western Extension of the C-Charge this will be done later this year!
What has done in typical Boris fashion is rush through a limited consultation that was directed at those who oppose the scheme and then announced a decision on that basis.
He has done the same on "A new bus for London" where instead of looking at the realities of bus travel in the 21st century (e.g all pre-paid fares thus no need for conductor) he ran a contest where a bus had to have an open platform to qualify! Thus loosing out on a real chance to look at Bus Design like those who worked for Lonon Transport used to do.
As for congestion you have two choices either limit use by a C-Charge or widen and upgrade roads to accomodate cars, going back to the old way will just bring back the day long gridlock Central London used to have.
As for shpkeepers well what business really arises from a line of parked cars most of which only had 1 occupant? Afterall you can only have 1 dinner or buy a few goods. Much better to have a bus stop with hundreds of potential customers boarding and alighting at all times.
As for Bus lanes well buses carry millions of passengers every day so why should they give way to a metal box with just one person?
Anyway, where will the money to withdrew the extension come from?
Finally, why were items like this not produced BEFORE the Mayoral election? Do we have the new owner to thank for this?
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
"Expert"? In who's opinion? Just because people claim to be an expert doesn't mean they know what they are talking about.
- Chris, London
act now and give 50% off the c charge boris, charge only £4 till u scrap it. every little helps.
- Malk, chingford
"
From the web site of the London EVENING STANDARD
"
Tell us, Boris, how you'll stop jams when the C-charge extension goes
David Williams and Katharine Barney
20.02.09 Look here too
Commentary: The Mayor needs a Plan B to avoid getting stuck in traffic problem
%3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3Ciframe%20src%3D%22http%3A//iad.anm.co.uk/CROP118118/MiniSkyscriptStand.html%22%20width%3D%22120%22%20height%3D%22600%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20marginheight%3D%220%22%20marginwidth%3D%220%22%20topmargin%3D%220%22%20leftmargin%3D%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//ads.anm.co.uk/IMPCNT/ccid%3D68724/pos%3D2/AAMSZ%3D120x600/SITE%3DSTANDARD/AREA%3DEVENINGSTANDARD/SUBAREA%3DNEWS/ARTICLE%3DARTICLE%3D23648002/CONTENT%3D/acc_random%3D3406002887/pageid%3D/RS%3D%22%20width%3D%221%22%20height%3D%221%22%20border%3D%220%22%20style%3D%22display%3Anone%22%20/%3E%3C/div%3E
Mayor Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure today to explain how he will tackle traffic congestion.
He has pledged to scrap the western extension zone to the congestion charge next year after a public consultation overwhelmingly called for it to go.
But experts warned today that its removal will lead to soaring traffic on key west London routes.
Critics say traffic speeds in the "old" zone have now fallen to pre-charging levels and warn that a financial "black hole" of up to £70million could spark a further round of bus fare rises.
Green campaigners and health experts also claim that scrapping the zone will lead to increased pollution and could put cyclists at risk from increased traffic.
The row coincides with the sixth anniversary of the launch of the original zone this week and with the second anniversary of the western extension - which stretches from Park Lane to Earl's Court.
Today conservation group the Knightsbridge Association called on Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to ensure London's air quality is not worsened by scrapping the extension.
Transport for London admits withdrawing the zone could see congestion rise by up to 25 per cent.
Association spokesman Simon Birkett said: "London's air quality is already breaking legal limits. Shutting down the western extension zone could make it worse, meaning big fines from Europe for the UK. We need to know how the Mayor will tackle this.
"If as a result of scrapping the zone vehicles are trapped in slow-moving traffic, emissions will be even worse."
But small businesses and residents are urging the Mayor not to backtrack on his decision, and say they are losing trade for every day the charging zone remains in place.
Six out of 10 London companies believe the congestion charge is harming their prospects and even want the original zone to be reconsidered, according to a survey from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Green campaigners accuse business leaders of putting cash before the environment. London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson said: "The congestion charge has been an incredibly successful method of traffic reduction. Scrapping the extension will almost certainly lead to a sharp rise in traffic, more congestion, more air pollution.
"This is bad news not only for pedestrians and cyclists, but also for anyone travelling in London and everyone who breathes London's air." The party also said bus fares may have to rise to cope with a drop in income.
Neil Churchill, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: "Scrapping the extension will be a disaster for the health of 430,000 people in London whose asthma is triggered by traffic pollution."
The Knightsbridge Association is advising the Mayor to beat the increased pollution risk by introducing a new inner-city low emission zone. It is also calling for the central congestion charge to be switched to a "tag and beacon" scheme that would bill drivers according to the time of day and length of time spent in the zone.
TfL claims congestion will be kept under control by rephased traffic lights and the fact that motorcycles are now allowed into bus lanes.
It is working with Thames Water to reduce the impact of replacing miles of Victorian mains and said it would launch a scheme allowing roadworks to be "properly co-ordinated". A TfL spokesman said the plan to put 6,000 bikes on the streets for hire from 2010 would also help.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "The Mayor is working with TfL on a range of measures to reduce emissions. Moreover, our focus is firmly on ...encouraging Londoners to swap car use for public transport, cycling, and walking."
Differing views on the congestion charge
Yuliya Zakharenko, 34
My Favourite Thing clothes shop, Kensington Church Street
“The congestion charge has made the street really quiet. Not a lot of people just come in off the street to browse the shop.
I probably get 30 per cent fewer customers than I would get if there was no charge. I'm not sure it would have been possible to survive without my pool of customers because the recession coupled with the congestion charge makes things extremely difficult.”
Eileen Trippier, 59
Kensington Lighting Company shop, Kensington Church Street.
“We take so many calls from people who ask if we are in the congestion zone. When we tell them we are, it really puts them off. I'm delighted the Mayor has moved to scrap the charge, but it needs to be done immediately. Next year may be too late.”
Alyson Lawrence, 48
Lev Antiques, Kensington Church Street
“We have 25 per cent fewer customers than we did before the charge came into place. Unfortunately, I live just outside the congestion zone and it is incredibly inconvenient for me. I often have to ferry antiques around by public transport.”
David Powell
Transport campaigner, Friends of the Earth
“The London congestion charge, backed by massive investment in public transport, has slashed carbon dioxide emissions and improved air quality in the city. The western extension stopped 30,000 cars going into the area every day, as people opted for greener alternatives like buses, cycling and walking.”
Steve McNamara
London Taxi Drivers Association
“When the western extension zone came in, levels of traffic in the old, central charging zone worsened by 10-15 per cent as west London residents who had previously got buses or cabs into central London drove their cars instead, as they now had residents' discounts. When it goes, traffic in the western area will be a bit worse but not much overall, we believe.”
Tim Hockney
Congestion expert, London First
“We would have preferred the western extension zone to have been scaled down to mornings only rather than being scrapped. We are concerned about the worsening of commuter through-traffic in west London and congestion hot spots developing on key routes when the extension zone goes.”
Link to:
Reader views (37) Add your view | Show all
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Firstly Boris has NOT carried out the OFFICIAL Consultation on the Western Extension of the C-Charge this will be done later this year!
What has done in typical Boris fashion is rush through a limited consultation that was directed at those who oppose the scheme and then announced a decision on that basis.
He has done the same on "A new bus for London" where instead of looking at the realities of bus travel in the 21st century (e.g all pre-paid fares thus no need for conductor) he ran a contest where a bus had to have an open platform to qualify! Thus loosing out on a real chance to look at Bus Design like those who worked for Lonon Transport used to do.
As for congestion you have two choices either limit use by a C-Charge or widen and upgrade roads to accomodate cars, going back to the old way will just bring back the day long gridlock Central London used to have.
As for shpkeepers well what business really arises from a line of parked cars most of which only had 1 occupant? Afterall you can only have 1 dinner or buy a few goods. Much better to have a bus stop with hundreds of potential customers boarding and alighting at all times.
As for Bus lanes well buses carry millions of passengers every day so why should they give way to a metal box with just one person?
Anyway, where will the money to withdrew the extension come from?
Finally, why were items like this not produced BEFORE the Mayoral election? Do we have the new owner to thank for this?
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
"Expert"? In who's opinion? Just because people claim to be an expert doesn't mean they know what they are talking about.
- Chris, London
act now and give 50% off the c charge boris, charge only £4 till u scrap it. every little helps.
- Malk, chingford
"
Monday, February 23, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! updating the analysis of Gordon Brown's flawed 'stimulus'. Northern Rock to pay bonuses!
KHOODEELAAR! updating the analysis of Gordon Brown's flawed 'stimulus'. Northern Rock to pay bonuses!
By © Muhammad Haque
1750 Hrs GMT
London Monday 23 February 2009
How is “Northern Rock still paying bonuses” material to the campaign against Crossrail scam?
It is a material item of evidence in the campaign against Crossrail hole scam.
It matters very much.
What “Northern Rock paying bonuses” is about is also what Brown’s Crossrail funding is about
It is about the Brown-fronted Blairing regime paying out big bonuses to big businesses as a whole at the expense of the ordinary public
That is a giant abuse of office and of power. And that is wrong. And that is a big mistake that will cause further deeper economic problems.
Khoodeelaar! is against that abuse.
Khoodeelaar! is about preventing that abuse and waste and the consequences.
[To be continued]
By © Muhammad Haque
1750 Hrs GMT
London Monday 23 February 2009
How is “Northern Rock still paying bonuses” material to the campaign against Crossrail scam?
It is a material item of evidence in the campaign against Crossrail hole scam.
It matters very much.
What “Northern Rock paying bonuses” is about is also what Brown’s Crossrail funding is about
It is about the Brown-fronted Blairing regime paying out big bonuses to big businesses as a whole at the expense of the ordinary public
That is a giant abuse of office and of power. And that is wrong. And that is a big mistake that will cause further deeper economic problems.
Khoodeelaar! is against that abuse.
Khoodeelaar! is about preventing that abuse and waste and the consequences.
[To be continued]
CRASS role comments for Crossrail by wannabe-mayor Nicki Gavron: confirming idiocy and her alliance with the liars
CRASS role comments for Crossrail by wannabe-mayor Nicki Gavron: confirming idiocy and her alliance with the liars
KHOODEELAAR! will comment fully on Nicki Gavron shortly
"Crossrail levy 'sliding scale' suggested
Katie Daubney, PlanningResource, 23 February 2009
Mayor of London Boris Johnson should consider levying Crossrail funding on a sliding scale, according to the London Assembly's Planning and Housing Committee.
In its response to the consultation on proposed alterations to the London Plan to help fund Crossrail, the Committee recommends that developers should contribute according to how much an area is expected to benefit from Crossrail, and on developments along the route both within and outside the Central Activity Zone (CAZ).
The committee feels that some parts of the CAZ will not benefit as much from Crossrail as some of the major centres outside the Zone.
Spreading the charge across more areas of London would alleviate the burden – and possible deterrent effect - on potential developers in the CAZ.
Planning and Housing Committee chairwoman Nicky Gavron said: The mayor needs to look outside the Central Activity Zone for Section 106 contributions and seriously consider charging the levy on a sliding scale, or risk overburdening areas that may not even see real benefits from Crossrail, like parts of Southwark, Lambeth and Hackney.
The full committee response can be read here.
KHOODEELAAR! will comment fully on Nicki Gavron shortly
"Crossrail levy 'sliding scale' suggested
Katie Daubney, PlanningResource, 23 February 2009
Mayor of London Boris Johnson should consider levying Crossrail funding on a sliding scale, according to the London Assembly's Planning and Housing Committee.
In its response to the consultation on proposed alterations to the London Plan to help fund Crossrail, the Committee recommends that developers should contribute according to how much an area is expected to benefit from Crossrail, and on developments along the route both within and outside the Central Activity Zone (CAZ).
The committee feels that some parts of the CAZ will not benefit as much from Crossrail as some of the major centres outside the Zone.
Spreading the charge across more areas of London would alleviate the burden – and possible deterrent effect - on potential developers in the CAZ.
Planning and Housing Committee chairwoman Nicky Gavron said: The mayor needs to look outside the Central Activity Zone for Section 106 contributions and seriously consider charging the levy on a sliding scale, or risk overburdening areas that may not even see real benefits from Crossrail, like parts of Southwark, Lambeth and Hackney.
The full committee response can be read here.
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! That CRASSrail-peddling London E Standard has no standards at all...
And this absence of standards of rigour, ethics, relevance, prudence, responsibility, sustainability, fairness, morality, ethics democracy and accountability from the alleged journalism of the standardsless London EVENING STANDARD is left unmitigated even by the occasional occurrence of truthful reporting in some of the title’s [=’newspaper’] contents.
Such as applies to the one published today with Mira bar Hilel’s by-line
"
Warning over Crossrail levy
Mira Bar-Hillel
23.02.09
BORIS Johnson's plans to charge property developers millions in a special "Crossrail levy" could force them to abandon schemes.
The Mayor wants to raise up to £300million towards the cross-London link by charging developers £19.80 per square foot on new office projects in central London.
But the levy has angered developers who say they are reeling from the credit crunch and the collapse of London office rents.
Land Securities said the levy will add £20million to its £1billion Victoria Interchange scheme, and may lead to it being scrapped.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "The Mayor will consider each case in light of its individual circumstances."
Link to:
Reader Views (2) Add your view
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
If extra office space is built in central London it will cause more office workers to commute. Just how will they get here? It should be obvious to all, including the developers, that Crossrail is needed. Any developer arguing otherwise is incompetent. Any developer arguing that just because he is creating the need doesn't mean that he should contribute to the solution, is arguing for other taxpayers' cash to end up in his over-stuffed pockets.
- Nigel, London
I hope the developer levy and our hard earned taxes will be used to employ all available and appropriately skilled UK firms, managers, engineers and labour on Crossrail, many of whose survival depends on securing work on this project.
UK firms can provide all the capabilities and skills to deliver CrossRail, and it would be surprising if European or US firms could provide the same services more cheaply, given the current dollar and euro exchange rates.
- mike, london
Add your comment
"
Such as applies to the one published today with Mira bar Hilel’s by-line
"
Warning over Crossrail levy
Mira Bar-Hillel
23.02.09
BORIS Johnson's plans to charge property developers millions in a special "Crossrail levy" could force them to abandon schemes.
The Mayor wants to raise up to £300million towards the cross-London link by charging developers £19.80 per square foot on new office projects in central London.
But the levy has angered developers who say they are reeling from the credit crunch and the collapse of London office rents.
Land Securities said the levy will add £20million to its £1billion Victoria Interchange scheme, and may lead to it being scrapped.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "The Mayor will consider each case in light of its individual circumstances."
Link to:
Reader Views (2) Add your view
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
If extra office space is built in central London it will cause more office workers to commute. Just how will they get here? It should be obvious to all, including the developers, that Crossrail is needed. Any developer arguing otherwise is incompetent. Any developer arguing that just because he is creating the need doesn't mean that he should contribute to the solution, is arguing for other taxpayers' cash to end up in his over-stuffed pockets.
- Nigel, London
I hope the developer levy and our hard earned taxes will be used to employ all available and appropriately skilled UK firms, managers, engineers and labour on Crossrail, many of whose survival depends on securing work on this project.
UK firms can provide all the capabilities and skills to deliver CrossRail, and it would be surprising if European or US firms could provide the same services more cheaply, given the current dollar and euro exchange rates.
- mike, london
Add your comment
"
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO!
0905 Hrs GMT London Monday 23 February 2009:
Khoodeelaar! evidential note: KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! And we have been saying that the ‘benefits’ that the Crossrail scam-touting clique on Tower Hamlets Council has claimed are NEVER going to materialise. They could not do so with the Crossrail scam being what it is. With today’s comments on Gordon Brown’s piece in the Sunday Guardian [Oops! the ‘Observer’] [22 February 2009] it is even clearer that Brown is in serious trouble as a credible steward of the Govt ship. He is hardly likely to be confirmed as a ‘serious’ steward now. Why? Because he has been far too imprudent far too often for far too long. And as even Robert Peston said, Brown is now waddling in a mess of his own imprudence! Peston did not say it. He only said ‘the mess we are in’. Khoodeelaar! has just said it!
[To be continued]
Thousands of foreign workers exploiting British jobs market
Foreign workers are taking 130 jobs a day which are not advertised to British workers, figures show.
By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 7:44PM GMT 22 Feb 2009
Figures last week showed the foreign workers' share of the jobs market has almost doubled under Labour, with 3.8 million now employed in Britain Photo: GETTY
The number of workers taking advantage of 'intra-company transfers' has increased by almost half in four years.
The system allows international companies to transfer their staff to the UK for supposedly limited periods of time.
But they do not have to advertise the post in the UK first and staff can stay for up to three years, plus a possible extension of two years after which they can apply for settlement.
Critics warned it meant companies had no incentive to hire and train British workers to fill the posts instead, deepening the row over the use of migrant labour.
The figures will further fuel the row over foreign labour as the recession deepens and comes ahead of more damaging immigration and population statistics to be published tomorrow.
The move also appears to contradict the recommendations of the Home Secretary, who said skilled jobs should not be given to immigrants before being advertised to British workers.
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, an independent group which monitors population flows, said: "This scheme is wide open to abuse and, in any case, is bound to reduce opportunities for British workers.
"It is absurd for the Government to describe this points based scheme as 'tough'."
Figures released to MPs showed 48,010 applications for intra-company transfers were approved in 2008, up 47 per cent on the 32,770 given the go ahead in 2004 and the equivalent of 131 arriving every day.
Overseas employees can be transferred to the UK provided they have worked for the sponsoring company for at least six months. They are also supposed to have knowledge specific to that company but there is no requirement for the job to be advertised first in Britain.
They can also work for up to 20 hours in supplementary employment provided it is in the same profession and do not need to demonstrate they speak English unless they want to stay longer than three years..
In 2006, a report by the trade union, Amicus, found that three quarters of work permits issued for IT occupations in 2005 were for intra company transfers.
Shadow work and pensions minister James Clappison, who unearthed the figures, said: "There are questions as to why there has been such a dramatic increase in the numbers in the last few years.
"It clearly calls for an explanation."
But Neil Carberry, head of employment policy for the CBI, said: "Those who enter the UK under these terms are usually highly skilled workers needed for very specific, short-term projects or secondments before they return home.
"They still have to meet strict immigration requirements. While there has been an increase, the UK is a globalised economy and 48,000 is a tiny part of a labour market of 30m."
A Government spokesman said: "Intra-company transfers are an important part of making the UK an attractive place in which to do business, and therefore keep industry and the economy moving.
"The rules around these transfers were developed following consultation with businesses, and workers must display the appropriate level of earnings and qualifications."
Figures last week showed the foreign workers' share of the jobs market has almost doubled under Labour, with 3.8 million now employed in Britain.
Workers not born in Britain account for one in seven jobs after more than 1.8 million foreigners were added to the labour force over the past decade.
The Daily Telegraph told last November how tens of thousands of immigrants are taking jobs in Britain every year without them being advertised here first.
The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday announced plans to review whether skilled foreign workers should be restricted solely to those occupations that have labour shortages.
The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will look to see if there is an economic case for such a move.
As disclosed by the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, Ms Smith also announced tighter restrictions on highly skilled migrants to cut the number of workers coming each year and new requirements for employers to advertise jobs in JobCentre Plus offices before bringing in labour from outside Europe.
The Home Secretary said: "A flexible immigration system, rather than an arbitrary cap, is better for British business and the British economy."
However, shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "Jacqui Smith is just tinkering around the edges of the immigration system. If she wants to control the numbers entering the country legally then should introduce a limit as a Conservative Government would. If she wants to control illegal immigration better, she should introduce a border police force. For the moment, she is just floundering in reaction to public anger."
Text Size
Email this article
Print this article
Share this article
What are these?
Related Content
More on Jobs
Labour's failure to curb immigration betrays our future
New BNP resurgence fears
Migrant permits to be cut
Foreign workers' share of job market doubles
Thousands of foreign workers taking British jobs without them being advertised
This financial crisis is now truly global
Foreign worker figures released to embarrass Brown, Whitehall sources claim
Khoodeelaar! evidential note: KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! And we have been saying that the ‘benefits’ that the Crossrail scam-touting clique on Tower Hamlets Council has claimed are NEVER going to materialise. They could not do so with the Crossrail scam being what it is. With today’s comments on Gordon Brown’s piece in the Sunday Guardian [Oops! the ‘Observer’] [22 February 2009] it is even clearer that Brown is in serious trouble as a credible steward of the Govt ship. He is hardly likely to be confirmed as a ‘serious’ steward now. Why? Because he has been far too imprudent far too often for far too long. And as even Robert Peston said, Brown is now waddling in a mess of his own imprudence! Peston did not say it. He only said ‘the mess we are in’. Khoodeelaar! has just said it!
[To be continued]
Thousands of foreign workers exploiting British jobs market
Foreign workers are taking 130 jobs a day which are not advertised to British workers, figures show.
By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 7:44PM GMT 22 Feb 2009
Figures last week showed the foreign workers' share of the jobs market has almost doubled under Labour, with 3.8 million now employed in Britain Photo: GETTY
The number of workers taking advantage of 'intra-company transfers' has increased by almost half in four years.
The system allows international companies to transfer their staff to the UK for supposedly limited periods of time.
But they do not have to advertise the post in the UK first and staff can stay for up to three years, plus a possible extension of two years after which they can apply for settlement.
Critics warned it meant companies had no incentive to hire and train British workers to fill the posts instead, deepening the row over the use of migrant labour.
The figures will further fuel the row over foreign labour as the recession deepens and comes ahead of more damaging immigration and population statistics to be published tomorrow.
The move also appears to contradict the recommendations of the Home Secretary, who said skilled jobs should not be given to immigrants before being advertised to British workers.
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, an independent group which monitors population flows, said: "This scheme is wide open to abuse and, in any case, is bound to reduce opportunities for British workers.
"It is absurd for the Government to describe this points based scheme as 'tough'."
Figures released to MPs showed 48,010 applications for intra-company transfers were approved in 2008, up 47 per cent on the 32,770 given the go ahead in 2004 and the equivalent of 131 arriving every day.
Overseas employees can be transferred to the UK provided they have worked for the sponsoring company for at least six months. They are also supposed to have knowledge specific to that company but there is no requirement for the job to be advertised first in Britain.
They can also work for up to 20 hours in supplementary employment provided it is in the same profession and do not need to demonstrate they speak English unless they want to stay longer than three years..
In 2006, a report by the trade union, Amicus, found that three quarters of work permits issued for IT occupations in 2005 were for intra company transfers.
Shadow work and pensions minister James Clappison, who unearthed the figures, said: "There are questions as to why there has been such a dramatic increase in the numbers in the last few years.
"It clearly calls for an explanation."
But Neil Carberry, head of employment policy for the CBI, said: "Those who enter the UK under these terms are usually highly skilled workers needed for very specific, short-term projects or secondments before they return home.
"They still have to meet strict immigration requirements. While there has been an increase, the UK is a globalised economy and 48,000 is a tiny part of a labour market of 30m."
A Government spokesman said: "Intra-company transfers are an important part of making the UK an attractive place in which to do business, and therefore keep industry and the economy moving.
"The rules around these transfers were developed following consultation with businesses, and workers must display the appropriate level of earnings and qualifications."
Figures last week showed the foreign workers' share of the jobs market has almost doubled under Labour, with 3.8 million now employed in Britain.
Workers not born in Britain account for one in seven jobs after more than 1.8 million foreigners were added to the labour force over the past decade.
The Daily Telegraph told last November how tens of thousands of immigrants are taking jobs in Britain every year without them being advertised here first.
The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday announced plans to review whether skilled foreign workers should be restricted solely to those occupations that have labour shortages.
The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will look to see if there is an economic case for such a move.
As disclosed by the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, Ms Smith also announced tighter restrictions on highly skilled migrants to cut the number of workers coming each year and new requirements for employers to advertise jobs in JobCentre Plus offices before bringing in labour from outside Europe.
The Home Secretary said: "A flexible immigration system, rather than an arbitrary cap, is better for British business and the British economy."
However, shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "Jacqui Smith is just tinkering around the edges of the immigration system. If she wants to control the numbers entering the country legally then should introduce a limit as a Conservative Government would. If she wants to control illegal immigration better, she should introduce a border police force. For the moment, she is just floundering in reaction to public anger."
Text Size
Email this article
Print this article
Share this article
What are these?
Related Content
More on Jobs
Labour's failure to curb immigration betrays our future
New BNP resurgence fears
Migrant permits to be cut
Foreign workers' share of job market doubles
Thousands of foreign workers taking British jobs without them being advertised
This financial crisis is now truly global
Foreign worker figures released to embarrass Brown, Whitehall sources claim
Sunday, February 22, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! evidential reference to Chris Mullin’s outing via the ‘Mail on Sunday’ - - not a really significant distance from ‘Tribune’, ‘after all’
"
How our liberties have been destroyed
Last updated at 3:56 PM on 21st February 2009
Comments (27)
Add to My Stories
Since Labour was elected 12 years ago, a massive and frightening array of powers have been introduced which curtail Britain's long-fought-for commitment to the freedom of the individual.
There are 56 such freedom-destroying powers, according to the Convention on Modern Liberty.
They range from the shameful decision to ban inconvenient but peaceful protests in the vicinity of Parliament to the storage by the police of DNA samples taken from entirely innocent people.
The plethora of cameras and databases recording and holding personal information is eroding our civil liberties
Town Hall Stasi routinely deploy anti-terrorist powers to snoop on dog foulers and families suspected of cheating school catchment area rules.
Low-ranking officials have access to the chilling ContactPoint database containing the sensitive personal details of every child in England.
More...
Buying some wine? Spy cameras will be watching
A giant new NHS database will allow confidential patient records to be accessed by health workers across the land.
The list is terrifying. But still ministers are not satisfied they have sufficient powers to pry into every aspect of our lives.
The Home Office will shortly announce details of a new Big Brother 'Intercept Modernisation Programme' which will store details of our every phone call and internet visit.
The Coroners and Justice Bill will allow the state to order inquests involving matters of national security to be held in secret if the details could prove embarrassing to ministers.
This means it will be possible to die in modern, 'civilised' Britain without anyone - not least relatives - knowing how and why.
More from Daily Mail Comment...
MAIL COMMENT: £2trillion in debt and there's worse to come 19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Affront to sanity19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: A desperate gamble fraught with risks19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Abandoned carers17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: The one-way traffic in British jobs17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: We can't wash our hands of torture17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Where is the promised £1 billion? Firms need help NOW17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Regrets, we need a few16/02/09
VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
And, as we reveal today, there will soon be compulsory CCTV cameras tracking people as they shop in supermarkets for a bottle of wine.
Without fanfare, ministers have slipped powers into the Policing and Crime Bill for councils to force any premises selling alcohol to install the cameras and hand over any relevant footage to the police.
But, if passed, it will mean there is virtually no aspect of public life not under surveillance.
Police already have 4.2million cameras trained on the streets, numberplate recognition systems watching our roads and are even, as we revealed earlier this week, insisting drinkers should be spied upon with CCTV in their local pub.
Save for places of worship, nowhere is sacred or private. Everyone is a potential suspect.
This Labour Government, in ways that would shock its socialist forebears, is systematically acquiring the tools of a totalitarian state in a way not even Orwell could have predicted.
The price we are paying in the loss of individual freedoms is awesome.
But so is the £34billion cost to the taxpayer of running the likes of ContactPoint and the ID cards database over the next decade, according to the Convention.
Yet are the watchers prepared to be watched themselves, to check they are not abusing the pervasive powers which they have amassed? Of course not.
In a display of dizzying hypocrisy, ministers this week introduced a law which makes it a criminal offence, punishable by ten years in prison, to take a picture of a police officer.
The Press will be hampered in reporting legitimate rallies at which police are present. Peaceful demonstrators will be stopped from taking their own record of events and tourists who dare to take a picture of the Pc guarding Big Ben could quickly find themselves behind bars.
Of course, the Government defends this, and the many other assaults on liberty since 1997, by pointing to the increased threat Britain faces from serious crime and terrorism.
But with every erosion of the values our enemies so despise, we hand these terrorists a victory to savour. Enough is enough.
Print this article Read later Email to a friend
Share this article:
Digg itDel.icio.usRedditNewsvineNowpublicStumbleUponFacebookMySpaceFark
View moreAdd your comments Comments (27)
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
Still voting Labour??????
Click to rate Rating 44 - Crusader, Glos., 21/2/2009 17:17
This vile monster government that we have, has probably been using a 'think tank' on how to devise a plan, to interfere with our sex lives next. Let's face it they have just about covered everything else. Using terrorism as an excuse is ludicrous, we all know that's a lie, how come we can't be rid of the terrorists we have already got.?
Click to rate Rating 55 - John Randell, Tunbridge Wells Kent UK, 21/2/2009 16:03
What do you expect when we have a goverment of dectators ruling us.
Click to rate Rating 45 - nigel, Belfast, 21/2/2009 15:58
"
How our liberties have been destroyed
Last updated at 3:56 PM on 21st February 2009
Comments (27)
Add to My Stories
Since Labour was elected 12 years ago, a massive and frightening array of powers have been introduced which curtail Britain's long-fought-for commitment to the freedom of the individual.
There are 56 such freedom-destroying powers, according to the Convention on Modern Liberty.
They range from the shameful decision to ban inconvenient but peaceful protests in the vicinity of Parliament to the storage by the police of DNA samples taken from entirely innocent people.
The plethora of cameras and databases recording and holding personal information is eroding our civil liberties
Town Hall Stasi routinely deploy anti-terrorist powers to snoop on dog foulers and families suspected of cheating school catchment area rules.
Low-ranking officials have access to the chilling ContactPoint database containing the sensitive personal details of every child in England.
More...
Buying some wine? Spy cameras will be watching
A giant new NHS database will allow confidential patient records to be accessed by health workers across the land.
The list is terrifying. But still ministers are not satisfied they have sufficient powers to pry into every aspect of our lives.
The Home Office will shortly announce details of a new Big Brother 'Intercept Modernisation Programme' which will store details of our every phone call and internet visit.
The Coroners and Justice Bill will allow the state to order inquests involving matters of national security to be held in secret if the details could prove embarrassing to ministers.
This means it will be possible to die in modern, 'civilised' Britain without anyone - not least relatives - knowing how and why.
More from Daily Mail Comment...
MAIL COMMENT: £2trillion in debt and there's worse to come 19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Affront to sanity19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: A desperate gamble fraught with risks19/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Abandoned carers17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: The one-way traffic in British jobs17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: We can't wash our hands of torture17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Where is the promised £1 billion? Firms need help NOW17/02/09
MAIL COMMENT: Regrets, we need a few16/02/09
VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
And, as we reveal today, there will soon be compulsory CCTV cameras tracking people as they shop in supermarkets for a bottle of wine.
Without fanfare, ministers have slipped powers into the Policing and Crime Bill for councils to force any premises selling alcohol to install the cameras and hand over any relevant footage to the police.
But, if passed, it will mean there is virtually no aspect of public life not under surveillance.
Police already have 4.2million cameras trained on the streets, numberplate recognition systems watching our roads and are even, as we revealed earlier this week, insisting drinkers should be spied upon with CCTV in their local pub.
Save for places of worship, nowhere is sacred or private. Everyone is a potential suspect.
This Labour Government, in ways that would shock its socialist forebears, is systematically acquiring the tools of a totalitarian state in a way not even Orwell could have predicted.
The price we are paying in the loss of individual freedoms is awesome.
But so is the £34billion cost to the taxpayer of running the likes of ContactPoint and the ID cards database over the next decade, according to the Convention.
Yet are the watchers prepared to be watched themselves, to check they are not abusing the pervasive powers which they have amassed? Of course not.
In a display of dizzying hypocrisy, ministers this week introduced a law which makes it a criminal offence, punishable by ten years in prison, to take a picture of a police officer.
The Press will be hampered in reporting legitimate rallies at which police are present. Peaceful demonstrators will be stopped from taking their own record of events and tourists who dare to take a picture of the Pc guarding Big Ben could quickly find themselves behind bars.
Of course, the Government defends this, and the many other assaults on liberty since 1997, by pointing to the increased threat Britain faces from serious crime and terrorism.
But with every erosion of the values our enemies so despise, we hand these terrorists a victory to savour. Enough is enough.
Print this article Read later Email to a friend
Share this article:
Digg itDel.icio.usRedditNewsvineNowpublicStumbleUponFacebookMySpaceFark
View moreAdd your comments Comments (27)
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
Still voting Labour??????
Click to rate Rating 44 - Crusader, Glos., 21/2/2009 17:17
This vile monster government that we have, has probably been using a 'think tank' on how to devise a plan, to interfere with our sex lives next. Let's face it they have just about covered everything else. Using terrorism as an excuse is ludicrous, we all know that's a lie, how come we can't be rid of the terrorists we have already got.?
Click to rate Rating 55 - John Randell, Tunbridge Wells Kent UK, 21/2/2009 16:03
What do you expect when we have a goverment of dectators ruling us.
Click to rate Rating 45 - nigel, Belfast, 21/2/2009 15:58
"
BBC peddles a very British' fabrication, part of Gordon Brown's latest floatation
BBC peddles a very British fabrication as it comes to the propaganda aid of the Home Secretary
2010 Hrs GMT London Sunday 22 February 2009:
The BBC continued to lie to ordinary viewers and listeners on Sunday 22 February 2009 by painting Jacqui Smith, 'Home secretary [UK 'cabinet minister' holding the portfolio of the Interior Ministry] as a protecter of jobs .. ‘British jobs for British workers’ [G Brown].. the British state broadcasting outfit would beat any of their rivals any time when it comes to faking it plausibly... The over-hyped soother of the Government, now being played by the Bigged up Andrew Marr fronting the spot that had previously been occupied by the 20th century’s arch booster of egos of the powerful [David Frost], predictably allowed Jacqui Smith to do a bit of ‘work’ on behalf of James Purnell, the official holder of the post at the Duped! [=DWP] allegedly the Department for Work and Pensions..Not long after the Jacqui Smith plug was played on BBC1, the ‘original’ imitator of the BNP, Gordon Brown [who had initiated the slogan a little while back as the first mainstream British Political party ‘leader’ adopting the BNP’s line, was being presented by the BBC as contradicting himself at another summit held in Berlin... Global.. global.. global.. came the word annoying all capacity left in the senses already bored beyond endurance by Brown’s appearances on the BBC platforms uttering that word...Brown is clearly not aware of what he has been up to domestically... He is contradicting himself on everything ...And then the word PRUDENCE returned. Again via the BBC! It was not at all news to KHOODEELAAR! Exactly a year ago this week, KHOODEELAAR! TOLD the CRASS role-playing Crossrail PEERS who were ‘visiting’ Hanbury Street off Brick Lane London E1 that they should pay attention to the Khoodeelaar! analysis which was that Brown had behaved imprudently in committing public funding to CRASSrail...[To be continued]
2010 Hrs GMT London Sunday 22 February 2009:
The BBC continued to lie to ordinary viewers and listeners on Sunday 22 February 2009 by painting Jacqui Smith, 'Home secretary [UK 'cabinet minister' holding the portfolio of the Interior Ministry] as a protecter of jobs .. ‘British jobs for British workers’ [G Brown].. the British state broadcasting outfit would beat any of their rivals any time when it comes to faking it plausibly... The over-hyped soother of the Government, now being played by the Bigged up Andrew Marr fronting the spot that had previously been occupied by the 20th century’s arch booster of egos of the powerful [David Frost], predictably allowed Jacqui Smith to do a bit of ‘work’ on behalf of James Purnell, the official holder of the post at the Duped! [=DWP] allegedly the Department for Work and Pensions..Not long after the Jacqui Smith plug was played on BBC1, the ‘original’ imitator of the BNP, Gordon Brown [who had initiated the slogan a little while back as the first mainstream British Political party ‘leader’ adopting the BNP’s line, was being presented by the BBC as contradicting himself at another summit held in Berlin... Global.. global.. global.. came the word annoying all capacity left in the senses already bored beyond endurance by Brown’s appearances on the BBC platforms uttering that word...Brown is clearly not aware of what he has been up to domestically... He is contradicting himself on everything ...And then the word PRUDENCE returned. Again via the BBC! It was not at all news to KHOODEELAAR! Exactly a year ago this week, KHOODEELAAR! TOLD the CRASS role-playing Crossrail PEERS who were ‘visiting’ Hanbury Street off Brick Lane London E1 that they should pay attention to the Khoodeelaar! analysis which was that Brown had behaved imprudently in committing public funding to CRASSrail...[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! No to Crossrail scam CAMPAIGN telling Gordon Brown to use EXISTING resources! And rules! Apply those. Better still, practise!
1724 Hrs GMT London Sunday 22 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! No to Crossrail scam CAMPAIGN telling Gordon Brown to use EXISTING resources! And rules! Apply those. Better still, practise!
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD BROWN SO! That he had got it wrong by being obsessed with Ken Livingstone-touted ‘Big Business’ scams.. That ‘bigness’ was bad for the economy. As even the otherwise mealy-mouthed William Keegan of the ‘Guardian-ised , that is, rendered into an immoral, corrupting organ on the whole [as opposed to a different orientation of the OBSERVER seen during its independently-owned times Observer’ has just told Maxine More-One on the BBC News Channel].
1738 Hrs GMT London Saturday 21
February 2009: KHOODEELAAR! Noting that the website www.propertyweek.com, which has been carrying an alleged disagreement by Steve Norris with Boris Johnson over the Crossrail levy that Johnson has imposed on several [small and medium sized] businesses [in comparison with really Big Businesses], is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! Comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stunt…KHOODEELAAR! Comment dissecting, in brief, Steve Norris’ comment and his role, was posted earlier today [To be continued]
Latest: ! Noting [1725GMTSat21February2009] that www.propertyweek.com is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stunt less than 5 seconds ago
1. khoodeelaar ! Noting [1725GMTSat21February2009] thatwww.propertyweek.com is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stuntless than 5 seconds ago from web
2. khoodeelaar ! Noting [1430GMTSaturday21Feb2009] the publishers of Steve Norris’ ‘disagreement’ with Boris J are not publishing KHOODEELAAR! comment [1]about 3 hours ago from web
3. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1012 gmtsat21feb2009 silence by licensed media talking heads on total sham of ‘Crossrail Bill’, rubber stamped in July 2008about 7 hours ago from web
4. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1012 gmtsat21feb2009 silence by licensed media talking heads on total sham of ‘Crossrail Bill’ that was rubber stamped July 2008…about 7 hours ago from web
5. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1010 gmtsat21feb2009 the one-sided platform given in mainstream media to the licensed liars to lie brazenly for status quo! about 7 hours ago from web
6. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1008 gmtsat21feb2009 language rights are daily tested in UK via licensed ‘writers’ who lie by twisting meanings. Every time about 7 hours ago from web
7. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1000 gmtsat21feb2009 the right to speak one’s mother language is empty phrase if their human rights are denied or questioned about 7 hours ago from web
8. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0958 gmtsat21feb2009 that there is no language rights, let alone EQUAL rights, without prior and real existence of human rights. about 7 hours ago from web
9. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0955 GMTSat21Feb2009 that meaning of words AND particular languages are IMPOSED by those exercising power in a given society about 8 hours ago from web
10. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0950 GMTSat21Feb2009 that meaning of words is not guaranteed as universal without prior agreement on rights of all concerned about 8 hours ago from web
11. khoodeelaar ! noting at 0028 GMTSat21Feb2009 the fact at 8th Flagon of the Bangladeshi [south Asian] calendar, symbolizing language rights about 8 hours ago from web
12. khoodeelaar ! noting at 0022 GMTSat21Feb2009 the 5th. year of the conception of the Sleety [=Sylhet+] language word KHOODEELAAR! in London E1 .about 17 hours ago from web
13. khoodeelaar noting [4] 1945GMT20Feb2009 that Steve Norris, whatever ‘the’ ‘motive’ has just done the cause of democracy for London a service about 22 hours ago from web
14. khoodeelaar noting [3] 1942GMT20Feb2009 that if Steve Norris can voice his disagreement on Boris Johnson conduct, the silence of the GLA is a disgrace about 22 hours ago from web
15. khoodeelaar noting [2] 1940GMT20Feb2009 that the Steve Norris disagreement with Boris Johnson on ‘Crossrail levy’ is only the tip of the iceberg about 22 hours ago from web
16. khoodeelaar noting at 1910GMT20Feb2009 steve norris echoing khoodeelaar! dissection of the alarmingly irresponsible abuse of powers ‘for Crossrail’! about 22 hours ago from web
17. khoodeelaar noting at 1910 GMT 20Feb2009 steve norris echoing khoodeelaar! dissection of the alarmingly irresponsible abuse of powers ‘for Crossrail’!…about 22 hours ago from web
18. khoodeelaar at0852GMTFri20Feb2009 noting the ‘emergence’ of a man claiming to be Boris Johnson’s brain! What a timely ‘item of news’! More. 8:53 AM yesterday from web
19. khoodeelaar at 0118 HrsgMTFri20Feb2009 querying GUARDIAN [7] line that they were ethically critical of Boris J: Why are they quiet on ethics front now 1:24 AM yesterday from web
20. khoodeelaar at0112GMTFri20Feb2009 asking GUARDIAN [6] to contest any of thousands, of evidential items we’ve published PROVING crassness of Crossrail1:15 AM yesterday from web
21. khoodeelaar at0110GMTFri20Feb2009 reminding the GUARDIAN [5] of its equally irrational peddling of Crossrail scam-peddler Ken Livingstone pre-1May2008!1:11 AM yesterday from web
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/4781445/Tradition-is-the-next-big-idea-in-politics.-But-why-stop-at-banking.html
KHOODEELAAR! No to Crossrail scam CAMPAIGN telling Gordon Brown to use EXISTING resources! And rules! Apply those. Better still, practise!
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD BROWN SO! That he had got it wrong by being obsessed with Ken Livingstone-touted ‘Big Business’ scams.. That ‘bigness’ was bad for the economy. As even the otherwise mealy-mouthed William Keegan of the ‘Guardian-ised , that is, rendered into an immoral, corrupting organ on the whole [as opposed to a different orientation of the OBSERVER seen during its independently-owned times Observer’ has just told Maxine More-One on the BBC News Channel].
1738 Hrs GMT London Saturday 21
February 2009: KHOODEELAAR! Noting that the website www.propertyweek.com, which has been carrying an alleged disagreement by Steve Norris with Boris Johnson over the Crossrail levy that Johnson has imposed on several [small and medium sized] businesses [in comparison with really Big Businesses], is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! Comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stunt…KHOODEELAAR! Comment dissecting, in brief, Steve Norris’ comment and his role, was posted earlier today [To be continued]
Latest: ! Noting [1725GMTSat21February2009] that www.propertyweek.com is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stunt less than 5 seconds ago
1. khoodeelaar ! Noting [1725GMTSat21February2009] thatwww.propertyweek.com is failing to publish Khoodeelaar! comment exposing Steve Norris’ Boris stuntless than 5 seconds ago from web
2. khoodeelaar ! Noting [1430GMTSaturday21Feb2009] the publishers of Steve Norris’ ‘disagreement’ with Boris J are not publishing KHOODEELAAR! comment [1]about 3 hours ago from web
3. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1012 gmtsat21feb2009 silence by licensed media talking heads on total sham of ‘Crossrail Bill’, rubber stamped in July 2008about 7 hours ago from web
4. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1012 gmtsat21feb2009 silence by licensed media talking heads on total sham of ‘Crossrail Bill’ that was rubber stamped July 2008…about 7 hours ago from web
5. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1010 gmtsat21feb2009 the one-sided platform given in mainstream media to the licensed liars to lie brazenly for status quo! about 7 hours ago from web
6. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1008 gmtsat21feb2009 language rights are daily tested in UK via licensed ‘writers’ who lie by twisting meanings. Every time about 7 hours ago from web
7. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 1000 gmtsat21feb2009 the right to speak one’s mother language is empty phrase if their human rights are denied or questioned about 7 hours ago from web
8. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0958 gmtsat21feb2009 that there is no language rights, let alone EQUAL rights, without prior and real existence of human rights. about 7 hours ago from web
9. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0955 GMTSat21Feb2009 that meaning of words AND particular languages are IMPOSED by those exercising power in a given society about 8 hours ago from web
10. khoodeelaar ! Noting at 0950 GMTSat21Feb2009 that meaning of words is not guaranteed as universal without prior agreement on rights of all concerned about 8 hours ago from web
11. khoodeelaar ! noting at 0028 GMTSat21Feb2009 the fact at 8th Flagon of the Bangladeshi [south Asian] calendar, symbolizing language rights about 8 hours ago from web
12. khoodeelaar ! noting at 0022 GMTSat21Feb2009 the 5th. year of the conception of the Sleety [=Sylhet+] language word KHOODEELAAR! in London E1 .about 17 hours ago from web
13. khoodeelaar noting [4] 1945GMT20Feb2009 that Steve Norris, whatever ‘the’ ‘motive’ has just done the cause of democracy for London a service about 22 hours ago from web
14. khoodeelaar noting [3] 1942GMT20Feb2009 that if Steve Norris can voice his disagreement on Boris Johnson conduct, the silence of the GLA is a disgrace about 22 hours ago from web
15. khoodeelaar noting [2] 1940GMT20Feb2009 that the Steve Norris disagreement with Boris Johnson on ‘Crossrail levy’ is only the tip of the iceberg about 22 hours ago from web
16. khoodeelaar noting at 1910GMT20Feb2009 steve norris echoing khoodeelaar! dissection of the alarmingly irresponsible abuse of powers ‘for Crossrail’! about 22 hours ago from web
17. khoodeelaar noting at 1910 GMT 20Feb2009 steve norris echoing khoodeelaar! dissection of the alarmingly irresponsible abuse of powers ‘for Crossrail’!…about 22 hours ago from web
18. khoodeelaar at0852GMTFri20Feb2009 noting the ‘emergence’ of a man claiming to be Boris Johnson’s brain! What a timely ‘item of news’! More. 8:53 AM yesterday from web
19. khoodeelaar at 0118 HrsgMTFri20Feb2009 querying GUARDIAN [7] line that they were ethically critical of Boris J: Why are they quiet on ethics front now 1:24 AM yesterday from web
20. khoodeelaar at0112GMTFri20Feb2009 asking GUARDIAN [6] to contest any of thousands, of evidential items we’ve published PROVING crassness of Crossrail1:15 AM yesterday from web
21. khoodeelaar at0110GMTFri20Feb2009 reminding the GUARDIAN [5] of its equally irrational peddling of Crossrail scam-peddler Ken Livingstone pre-1May2008!1:11 AM yesterday from web
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/4781445/Tradition-is-the-next-big-idea-in-politics.-But-why-stop-at-banking.html
KHOODEELAAR! Told you so! that 'USA firm' Bechtel, which even 'Private Eye' identified as the 'lobby' behind the London 'Crossrail scam', is set for £
1245 GMT London Sunday 22 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! Told you so! that 'USA firm' Bechtel, which even 'Private Eye' identified as the 'lobby' behind the London 'Crossrail scam', is set for ££Billn off UK public...
Now even the BBC - yes, even the BBC that has long aided and abetted Big Business and hidden the facts of Bechtel role in setting the agenda of parliament and the behaviour of - is headlining the item as 'US Firm'...
[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! Told you so! that 'USA firm' Bechtel, which even 'Private Eye' identified as the 'lobby' behind the London 'Crossrail scam', is set for ££Billn off UK public...
Now even the BBC - yes, even the BBC that has long aided and abetted Big Business and hidden the facts of Bechtel role in setting the agenda of parliament and the behaviour of - is headlining the item as 'US Firm'...
[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! Updater analysis [part 2] of Stupid Norris doing a not-so-subtle-plug for Crossrail Boris
0135 Hrs GMT London Sunday 22 February 2009:
By © Muhammad Haque …
KHOODEELAAR! Noting that the website www.propertyweek.com has continued to suppress the KHOODEELAAR! Comment expsi9sng the shallowness of Steve Norris’ ‘disagreement’ over ‘CrossRail levy’ with Boris Johnson. This is not a surprise! Alas! The propertyweek outfit is of course only one of literally thousands of ‘mainstream’ media titles and outlets that have been peddling the crassly conceived wasteful London Crossrail scam… And for the record, even they acknowledge the fact that Steve Norris is employed as an adviser to Boris Johnson… on ‘transport’…At a time when the entire, capitalist, free-market western world is experiencing the unravelling of the leading ‘financial institutions’, when parades and parades of bankers, financiers, investors fund managers… are being exposed as being no more than plain crooks, liars and thieves… and at a time when ALL the claimants to ‘democratic’ accountability across the ‘free, democratic world’ are being shown up as being either fakers or worse, and at a time when the allegedly most ardent critics of the likes of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe are poised to imitate him in printing money ….
The matter of Boris Johnson being wrong and Steve Norris being equally wrong in pointing out that Boris was wrong and in HEN vowing to back the very same CRASSRAIL scam, may not matter that much… But it does. It does to the campaign for a truthful parliament… the truth that the UK Houses of Parliament have evaded, avoided and suppressed on the role of Big Business in cooking up the CrossRail scam… for even the wildest and the most optimistic ‘defenders of the system’ [a la the ‘British trade union’ leader Mr Woodley, to cite only one, an ‘authentic’ sample of the type] who are at the present moment literally prostrate on the state-approved propaganda platform laid on for the benefit of Biog Business being allowed £Billions of ‘the peoples’ dosh’ , will not say that the ‘resumption of business’ can work without a significant part of the culture of thieving and criminality dominating capitalist society being eradicated or stopped for a good deal of time….
And we do not expect ‘the social institutions’ to become any different overnight… In order to get back to ‘normal’ business, when that does happen, society and its financial and political institutions have to be seen to be working. And to work, the sea of sleaze has got to be dealt with….Sleaze and corruption and lying….fraud, evasion and deceit.. looting the public and denying the public the democratic, human and fundamental rights….The two sets of values and conduct do not match.. Just as the lying done on the floors of the two Houses of Parliament by the peddlers of Crossrail who were acting under influence of Big Business lobby did not go with the avowed, officially claimed purpose, conduct, orientation and standard of the two Houses… the fabrication and lying done for Crossrail by succession of UK Transport ministers who showed in effect two fingers to the UK’s International treaty obligations did not go, cannot go with Gordon Brown’s claim of the months following 28 July 2008 [when he, Gordon Brown, led the rubber-stamping of the ‘Crossrail Bill’ into the ‘Crossrail Act’] that the ‘crisis now is global and that it can only be really solved by global action, by global cooperation;…
So severely has Gordon Brown committed himself to the task of propaganda of the ‘global’ phenomenon that it has become a given whenever he p[ops up on the TV screens or appears on a stage, to expect that he will go global And he may even literally go global if Angela for a role to fit Brown’s OTT global obsession….
How can Brown be taken seriously globally if he is allowed to forget that he could have stopped the public funding of CRASSrail but he did not..
That even [UK TV] ‘Channel 4 News’ reported in October 2007 that Brown had acted AGAINST the advice of Rod Eddington….
Who on earth was Rod |Eddington?! It was a name that Gordon Brown introduced into the ‘transport’ discourse in the UK… For it was Brown who had appointed Eddington to do a specialist report on the UK railways
This was published in 2006 and titled ‘The Eddington Transport Study’. In their news coverage of the publication of the Eddington Report, the US Business outlet FORBES said that Eddington had NOT endorsed CrossRail… This must have been true because hours before the formal publication of the same report, the Blair-backing, Brown-friendly London GUARDIAN news outfit condemned Eddington…
[To be continued]
By © Muhammad Haque …
KHOODEELAAR! Noting that the website www.propertyweek.com has continued to suppress the KHOODEELAAR! Comment expsi9sng the shallowness of Steve Norris’ ‘disagreement’ over ‘CrossRail levy’ with Boris Johnson. This is not a surprise! Alas! The propertyweek outfit is of course only one of literally thousands of ‘mainstream’ media titles and outlets that have been peddling the crassly conceived wasteful London Crossrail scam… And for the record, even they acknowledge the fact that Steve Norris is employed as an adviser to Boris Johnson… on ‘transport’…At a time when the entire, capitalist, free-market western world is experiencing the unravelling of the leading ‘financial institutions’, when parades and parades of bankers, financiers, investors fund managers… are being exposed as being no more than plain crooks, liars and thieves… and at a time when ALL the claimants to ‘democratic’ accountability across the ‘free, democratic world’ are being shown up as being either fakers or worse, and at a time when the allegedly most ardent critics of the likes of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe are poised to imitate him in printing money ….
The matter of Boris Johnson being wrong and Steve Norris being equally wrong in pointing out that Boris was wrong and in HEN vowing to back the very same CRASSRAIL scam, may not matter that much… But it does. It does to the campaign for a truthful parliament… the truth that the UK Houses of Parliament have evaded, avoided and suppressed on the role of Big Business in cooking up the CrossRail scam… for even the wildest and the most optimistic ‘defenders of the system’ [a la the ‘British trade union’ leader Mr Woodley, to cite only one, an ‘authentic’ sample of the type] who are at the present moment literally prostrate on the state-approved propaganda platform laid on for the benefit of Biog Business being allowed £Billions of ‘the peoples’ dosh’ , will not say that the ‘resumption of business’ can work without a significant part of the culture of thieving and criminality dominating capitalist society being eradicated or stopped for a good deal of time….
And we do not expect ‘the social institutions’ to become any different overnight… In order to get back to ‘normal’ business, when that does happen, society and its financial and political institutions have to be seen to be working. And to work, the sea of sleaze has got to be dealt with….Sleaze and corruption and lying….fraud, evasion and deceit.. looting the public and denying the public the democratic, human and fundamental rights….The two sets of values and conduct do not match.. Just as the lying done on the floors of the two Houses of Parliament by the peddlers of Crossrail who were acting under influence of Big Business lobby did not go with the avowed, officially claimed purpose, conduct, orientation and standard of the two Houses… the fabrication and lying done for Crossrail by succession of UK Transport ministers who showed in effect two fingers to the UK’s International treaty obligations did not go, cannot go with Gordon Brown’s claim of the months following 28 July 2008 [when he, Gordon Brown, led the rubber-stamping of the ‘Crossrail Bill’ into the ‘Crossrail Act’] that the ‘crisis now is global and that it can only be really solved by global action, by global cooperation;…
So severely has Gordon Brown committed himself to the task of propaganda of the ‘global’ phenomenon that it has become a given whenever he p[ops up on the TV screens or appears on a stage, to expect that he will go global And he may even literally go global if Angela for a role to fit Brown’s OTT global obsession….
How can Brown be taken seriously globally if he is allowed to forget that he could have stopped the public funding of CRASSrail but he did not..
That even [UK TV] ‘Channel 4 News’ reported in October 2007 that Brown had acted AGAINST the advice of Rod Eddington….
Who on earth was Rod |Eddington?! It was a name that Gordon Brown introduced into the ‘transport’ discourse in the UK… For it was Brown who had appointed Eddington to do a specialist report on the UK railways
This was published in 2006 and titled ‘The Eddington Transport Study’. In their news coverage of the publication of the Eddington Report, the US Business outlet FORBES said that Eddington had NOT endorsed CrossRail… This must have been true because hours before the formal publication of the same report, the Blair-backing, Brown-friendly London GUARDIAN news outfit condemned Eddington…
[To be continued]
Saturday, February 21, 2009
First comment from KHOODEELAAR! on Steve Norris' 'disagreement' with Boris Johnson
1410 Hrs GMT London Saturday 21 February 2009
First comment from KHOODEELAAR! on Steve Norris' 'disagreement' with Boris Johnson:
"
Steve Norris could have fooled genuine opponents of the crassly conceived Crossrail Big Business scam. Your headline to his plug for Crossrail is misleading. As are the contents of his by-lined promotion. Both do a disservice to the cause of accountability over use and misuse of relevant powers affecting the needs and rights of ordinary people in London. You should drop Norris and bring in reports and comments from across London from people who are not employed by or ingratiating to the current holder of the post of mayor in the name of London. Had Norris been bothered about democratic accountability he would have made pro-democratic intervention without pay while the Crossrail Bill was being massaged and passaged through a pliant parliament. Norris lost political credibility because he failed to prioritise democratic and ethical use of powers. With him being an adviser on transport, it is inconcievable that the people of London will get the ethical or the economic advice that are due. Boris cannot be worried by whatever Norris may say by way of ‘disagreement’ when it is more than even Boris could say about peddling HIS position.
"
First comment from KHOODEELAAR! on Steve Norris' 'disagreement' with Boris Johnson:
"
Steve Norris could have fooled genuine opponents of the crassly conceived Crossrail Big Business scam. Your headline to his plug for Crossrail is misleading. As are the contents of his by-lined promotion. Both do a disservice to the cause of accountability over use and misuse of relevant powers affecting the needs and rights of ordinary people in London. You should drop Norris and bring in reports and comments from across London from people who are not employed by or ingratiating to the current holder of the post of mayor in the name of London. Had Norris been bothered about democratic accountability he would have made pro-democratic intervention without pay while the Crossrail Bill was being massaged and passaged through a pliant parliament. Norris lost political credibility because he failed to prioritise democratic and ethical use of powers. With him being an adviser on transport, it is inconcievable that the people of London will get the ethical or the economic advice that are due. Boris cannot be worried by whatever Norris may say by way of ‘disagreement’ when it is more than even Boris could say about peddling HIS position.
"
KHOODEELAAR! is a Seelotee language word, devised in London by Muhammad Haque in 2004 as the rallying call to defend the community against CROSSRAIL..
0015 Hrs GMT London Saturday 21 February 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! No to "Crossrail hole scam..." campaign..
KHOODEELAAR! is a Seelotee language word, devised in London by Muhammad Haque in 2004 as the rallying call to defend the community against the agenda of BiG Business CRASSrail.... KHOODEELAAR! is instantly recognised now by people of all linguistic and political backgrounds.. KHOODEELAAR! is the symbol and the statement of ethical, moral economic and democratic defence o and service to of the community in our time.. KHOODEELAAR! has been conducting the unique set of daily investigative reporting on all aspects o the Crossrail scam.. In the course of doing so, Khoodeelaar! forecast the current economic and financial and fiscal mess... warning Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling [as far back as February 2004] of the consequences of their follies.….
[To be continued]
KHOODEELAAR! No to "Crossrail hole scam..." campaign..
KHOODEELAAR! is a Seelotee language word, devised in London by Muhammad Haque in 2004 as the rallying call to defend the community against the agenda of BiG Business CRASSrail.... KHOODEELAAR! is instantly recognised now by people of all linguistic and political backgrounds.. KHOODEELAAR! is the symbol and the statement of ethical, moral economic and democratic defence o and service to of the community in our time.. KHOODEELAAR! has been conducting the unique set of daily investigative reporting on all aspects o the Crossrail scam.. In the course of doing so, Khoodeelaar! forecast the current economic and financial and fiscal mess... warning Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling [as far back as February 2004] of the consequences of their follies.….
[To be continued]
Friday, February 20, 2009
KHOODEELAAR! putting in context the DAILY EXPRESS front page of Saturday 21 February 2009 about 'gravy trains'....
Fury over Westminster gravy train
Last updated at 22:22pm on 27.10.06
Add your view
Prescott recently declared his son David is a member of his Commons team
MPs face a further public backlash over their lavish salaries and expenses after new figures showed that around 50 MPs are using their annual £87,276 staffing allowance to employ members of their own families.
The politicians, who last year pocketed an average of £204,000 in pay and perks, have hired their wives, husbands, children - and in some cases parents - as research assistants and secretaries.
A total of four cabinet ministers have ensured their work remains a family affair. The Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott recently declared that his son David is a member of his Commons team.
The 36-year-old former journalist and public relations consultant is named as being a member of Mr Prescott's private staff on September's register of MP's staff.
At the time, it was reported that he was employed by his father as a 'media monitor' in the wake of his affair with diary secretary Tracey Temple.
It prompted accusations that the Deputy Prime Minister had abused his position by giving him a coveted lobby pass to the House of Commons.
The Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who has recording the highest staff expenses of any MP at £99,589, has also been criticised for employing her husband Leo to run her constituency office.
The Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain lists his elderly 79-year-old mother Adelaine as a member of his Commons staff list, while the International Development Secretary Hilary Benn employs his brother Stephen.
And Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, employs his sister-in-law Anne 'Dodie' McGuinness as his sole member of staff.
Despite refusing to take his seat in the Commons along with his other Sinn Fein colleagues, Mr McGuinness claimed an astonishing £64,272 last year in staff costs. It is not clear how much of this goes directly to Mrs McGuinness.
The Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary David Lidington said: "We have consistently said that Sinn Fein MPs should not be paid parliamentary salaries or be allowed to claim expenses while they refuse to take their seats in parliament."
The register also shows that at least five MPs employ more than one relative to work in their Westminster offices.
Traditionally, Tory MPs have employed their wives in their private offices as research assistants, but the new figures show that up to 27 Labour MPs have relatives on staff compared to around 18 Conservative MPs and just one Liberal Democrat.
Campaigners last night accused the politicians of using taxpayers' money to fund their family finances.
Husband and wife Labour MPs Alan and Ann Keen, whose constituencies are side by side in West London, claimed £30,288 for a Central London flat even though they live only nine miles from Westminster. Mr Keen also employs the couple's son David as his fulltime assistant.
Many of the relatives work part-time or are not paid, but it is not known which ones are pocketing taxpayers' cash because details of their salaries are not made public.
MPs claim that the relatives carry out essential duties ranging from administrative tasks to tackling constituents' problems and represent good value for money.
But critics say payroll information for MPs staff should be made public.
Taxpayers' Alliance spokesman Blair Gibbs said: "Thanks to higher taxes, we all have to make an extra effort to budget, but some politicians are using taxpayers' money to pay for their own family members.
"These new revelations will only make the public more convinced of the need for real transparency - total figures aren't enough. It is our money, so it is only fair that we are allowed to see exactly how our money is spent, and who benefited."
Information campaigner Heather Brooke, from the website Your Right to Know, says: "These people are paid for with our money and we have a right to know who they are and what they are doing."
A spokesman for Mr Prescott's office last night insisted that David Prescott was not a fulltime member of staff. He said: "David Prescott was given a lobby pass for two weeks over the summer. It is my understanding that he was not paid. He is not a member of Mr Prescott's staff."
Reader views (4)
Add your view | Show all
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Disregarding this latest hoohah, is anyone surprised at the what goes on in the `mother of Parliaments', bearing in mind that John Prescott still snatches the best part of A HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND POUNDS per year, plus perks, yet he hasn't got a job and does little more than sit with scowling countenance to the right of Blair, without a care in the world at Prime Minister's Questions.
- Ted, Shetland
Action they say, speaks louder than words! This appalling spend of taxpayers money must be stopped sooner than later. Our money is been abused and it is getting more ridiculous. What has Tony Blair got to say? Or should we wait until our hard earned money is gubbled by MPs and their families?
- Kate Chukwu, London
Its so blatant the gap between the "top" and pensioners like me on £6000. per annum. How long before we get a pill on our 65th birthday so they can award themselves even more. I'm clearly a whingeing oap who has outlived her usefulness but there will come a day when they will have to be accountable for their greed. I may have nothing much but I do have peace of mind. My generation were bought up during the second world war so know what is to make do-and-mend etc and be grateful for what we have. People like this will never be happy, they will never be satisfied with anything, and always wanting more will destroy them in the end. I thank God I'm on my way out!
- Janet Edwards, Kendal, England
Last updated at 22:22pm on 27.10.06
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Prescott recently declared his son David is a member of his Commons team
MPs face a further public backlash over their lavish salaries and expenses after new figures showed that around 50 MPs are using their annual £87,276 staffing allowance to employ members of their own families.
The politicians, who last year pocketed an average of £204,000 in pay and perks, have hired their wives, husbands, children - and in some cases parents - as research assistants and secretaries.
A total of four cabinet ministers have ensured their work remains a family affair. The Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott recently declared that his son David is a member of his Commons team.
The 36-year-old former journalist and public relations consultant is named as being a member of Mr Prescott's private staff on September's register of MP's staff.
At the time, it was reported that he was employed by his father as a 'media monitor' in the wake of his affair with diary secretary Tracey Temple.
It prompted accusations that the Deputy Prime Minister had abused his position by giving him a coveted lobby pass to the House of Commons.
The Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who has recording the highest staff expenses of any MP at £99,589, has also been criticised for employing her husband Leo to run her constituency office.
The Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain lists his elderly 79-year-old mother Adelaine as a member of his Commons staff list, while the International Development Secretary Hilary Benn employs his brother Stephen.
And Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, employs his sister-in-law Anne 'Dodie' McGuinness as his sole member of staff.
Despite refusing to take his seat in the Commons along with his other Sinn Fein colleagues, Mr McGuinness claimed an astonishing £64,272 last year in staff costs. It is not clear how much of this goes directly to Mrs McGuinness.
The Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary David Lidington said: "We have consistently said that Sinn Fein MPs should not be paid parliamentary salaries or be allowed to claim expenses while they refuse to take their seats in parliament."
The register also shows that at least five MPs employ more than one relative to work in their Westminster offices.
Traditionally, Tory MPs have employed their wives in their private offices as research assistants, but the new figures show that up to 27 Labour MPs have relatives on staff compared to around 18 Conservative MPs and just one Liberal Democrat.
Campaigners last night accused the politicians of using taxpayers' money to fund their family finances.
Husband and wife Labour MPs Alan and Ann Keen, whose constituencies are side by side in West London, claimed £30,288 for a Central London flat even though they live only nine miles from Westminster. Mr Keen also employs the couple's son David as his fulltime assistant.
Many of the relatives work part-time or are not paid, but it is not known which ones are pocketing taxpayers' cash because details of their salaries are not made public.
MPs claim that the relatives carry out essential duties ranging from administrative tasks to tackling constituents' problems and represent good value for money.
But critics say payroll information for MPs staff should be made public.
Taxpayers' Alliance spokesman Blair Gibbs said: "Thanks to higher taxes, we all have to make an extra effort to budget, but some politicians are using taxpayers' money to pay for their own family members.
"These new revelations will only make the public more convinced of the need for real transparency - total figures aren't enough. It is our money, so it is only fair that we are allowed to see exactly how our money is spent, and who benefited."
Information campaigner Heather Brooke, from the website Your Right to Know, says: "These people are paid for with our money and we have a right to know who they are and what they are doing."
A spokesman for Mr Prescott's office last night insisted that David Prescott was not a fulltime member of staff. He said: "David Prescott was given a lobby pass for two weeks over the summer. It is my understanding that he was not paid. He is not a member of Mr Prescott's staff."
Reader views (4)
Add your view | Show all
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Disregarding this latest hoohah, is anyone surprised at the what goes on in the `mother of Parliaments', bearing in mind that John Prescott still snatches the best part of A HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND POUNDS per year, plus perks, yet he hasn't got a job and does little more than sit with scowling countenance to the right of Blair, without a care in the world at Prime Minister's Questions.
- Ted, Shetland
Action they say, speaks louder than words! This appalling spend of taxpayers money must be stopped sooner than later. Our money is been abused and it is getting more ridiculous. What has Tony Blair got to say? Or should we wait until our hard earned money is gubbled by MPs and their families?
- Kate Chukwu, London
Its so blatant the gap between the "top" and pensioners like me on £6000. per annum. How long before we get a pill on our 65th birthday so they can award themselves even more. I'm clearly a whingeing oap who has outlived her usefulness but there will come a day when they will have to be accountable for their greed. I may have nothing much but I do have peace of mind. My generation were bought up during the second world war so know what is to make do-and-mend etc and be grateful for what we have. People like this will never be happy, they will never be satisfied with anything, and always wanting more will destroy them in the end. I thank God I'm on my way out!
- Janet Edwards, Kendal, England
So crass, so insane has been the CRASS-rail-peddling that for the first time, a serious crack appears!
1928 Hrs GMT London Friday 20 February 2009: KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO!
So crass, so insane has been the CRASS-rail-peddling that for the first time, a serious crack appears! When Steve Norris [more than once a candidate for the post of London mayor for the Toy Party, himself] feels it necessary to go on the record to voice his disagreement with Boris JOHNSON on ‘Crossrail levy’, it is only a matter of time before the avalanche comes and sweeps the lunacy away...[To be continued]
AADHIKARonline in association with
KHOODEELAAR!
quoting from the PROPERTY WEEK piece attributed to Steve Norris: Last week this magazine covered the two proposals to raise money for Crossrail that have got the development community up in arms: the 2p levy on existing non-residential properties with a rateable value of more than £50,000 in all 33 London boroughs and mayor Johnson’s proposal for what amounts to a compulsory section 106 levy at £19.80/sq ft on new development in central London.
There have been predictable objections to both from outraged retailers, who say the 2p levy will leave them uncompetitive, and from developers such as Land Securities, which faces a potential £20m bill for its Victoria Interchange scheme if Boris goes ahead with his plan.
Contributing factors
But is a contribution to Crossrail by the property industry so unreasonable?
When I was a minister desperately trying to get the Jubilee Line extension through the Treasury, the most difficult part of the negotiations was getting £400m over 20 years out of Olympia & York, the owner of Canary Wharf, as a contribution to the line. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that the developer was in administration at the time and effectively owned by a consortium of banks.
But those hard-nosed bankers could see that the Jubilee Line was a lifeline for London Docklands. They agreed to a net present value lump sum and the scheme went ahead.
Two lessons struck me. First, that there is no doubt whatever that transport infrastructure can transform the value of surrounding property where the job pool is massively magnified and business access is transformed. Docklands without the Jubilee Line would be nothing like the powerhouse it is now.
But what also impressed me was that while Canary Wharf’s owners paid up, and one or two small contributions trickled in, most of the property owners along the line got a massive benefit for free. And that simply can’t be right.
There is certainly an argument over whether properties in those boroughs that are not directly affected should pay. I personally proposed a scheme of 1 km circles around stations, within which a graduated charge would apply, but I admit that it is easier to say than deliver in law.
In any event, the estimates I have seen are that the 2p levy will add 1% to total occupancy costs so, while no charge is welcome, this one is not likely to be fatal and small businesses are by definition excluded.
On the mayor’s levy, one thing is clear: any extra costs imposed on development – particularly at this time – will be as much of a disincentive as Development Land Tax in all its forms always has been.
I have argued in this column before that, while it always looks attractive to charge new development for a variety of reasons, the reality is that any charge makes that development less likely. The mayor is taking a risk with his proposal because, if he sticks to his guns, I fear many developments that are already in rocky territory financially simply won’t happen.
Boris will be aware of Edmund Burke’s theory that ‘to tax and to please … is not given to men’. He may have to lower his ambitions, as shown by the Howick Place example – where, after a standoff with Terrace Hill over its development in London’s Victoria, he had to accept a fraction of the Crossrail contribution he had asked for.
Neither is the levy likely to win popular approval – but that those who benefit most from a scheme such as Crossrail should cough up some of the cost ultimately sounds fair.
Postscript :
Steven Norris is an adviser on transport and development to London mayor Boris Johnson
So crass, so insane has been the CRASS-rail-peddling that for the first time, a serious crack appears! When Steve Norris [more than once a candidate for the post of London mayor for the Toy Party, himself] feels it necessary to go on the record to voice his disagreement with Boris JOHNSON on ‘Crossrail levy’, it is only a matter of time before the avalanche comes and sweeps the lunacy away...[To be continued]
AADHIKARonline in association with
KHOODEELAAR!
quoting from the PROPERTY WEEK piece attributed to Steve Norris: Last week this magazine covered the two proposals to raise money for Crossrail that have got the development community up in arms: the 2p levy on existing non-residential properties with a rateable value of more than £50,000 in all 33 London boroughs and mayor Johnson’s proposal for what amounts to a compulsory section 106 levy at £19.80/sq ft on new development in central London.
There have been predictable objections to both from outraged retailers, who say the 2p levy will leave them uncompetitive, and from developers such as Land Securities, which faces a potential £20m bill for its Victoria Interchange scheme if Boris goes ahead with his plan.
Contributing factors
But is a contribution to Crossrail by the property industry so unreasonable?
When I was a minister desperately trying to get the Jubilee Line extension through the Treasury, the most difficult part of the negotiations was getting £400m over 20 years out of Olympia & York, the owner of Canary Wharf, as a contribution to the line. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that the developer was in administration at the time and effectively owned by a consortium of banks.
But those hard-nosed bankers could see that the Jubilee Line was a lifeline for London Docklands. They agreed to a net present value lump sum and the scheme went ahead.
Two lessons struck me. First, that there is no doubt whatever that transport infrastructure can transform the value of surrounding property where the job pool is massively magnified and business access is transformed. Docklands without the Jubilee Line would be nothing like the powerhouse it is now.
But what also impressed me was that while Canary Wharf’s owners paid up, and one or two small contributions trickled in, most of the property owners along the line got a massive benefit for free. And that simply can’t be right.
There is certainly an argument over whether properties in those boroughs that are not directly affected should pay. I personally proposed a scheme of 1 km circles around stations, within which a graduated charge would apply, but I admit that it is easier to say than deliver in law.
In any event, the estimates I have seen are that the 2p levy will add 1% to total occupancy costs so, while no charge is welcome, this one is not likely to be fatal and small businesses are by definition excluded.
On the mayor’s levy, one thing is clear: any extra costs imposed on development – particularly at this time – will be as much of a disincentive as Development Land Tax in all its forms always has been.
I have argued in this column before that, while it always looks attractive to charge new development for a variety of reasons, the reality is that any charge makes that development less likely. The mayor is taking a risk with his proposal because, if he sticks to his guns, I fear many developments that are already in rocky territory financially simply won’t happen.
Boris will be aware of Edmund Burke’s theory that ‘to tax and to please … is not given to men’. He may have to lower his ambitions, as shown by the Howick Place example – where, after a standoff with Terrace Hill over its development in London’s Victoria, he had to accept a fraction of the Crossrail contribution he had asked for.
Neither is the levy likely to win popular approval – but that those who benefit most from a scheme such as Crossrail should cough up some of the cost ultimately sounds fair.
Postscript :
Steven Norris is an adviser on transport and development to London mayor Boris Johnson
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! So crass, so insane has been the CRASS-rail-peddling that for the first time, a serious crack appears!
1910 Hrs GMT London Friday 20 February 2009:
AADHIKARonline has taken the Steve Norris piece, below, from the web site cited:
http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=38&storycode=3134281&c=3
I disagree with Boris over the Crossrail levy
20.02.09
The politics of property
-
By Steven Norris
Last week this magazine covered the two proposals to raise money for Crossrail that have got the development community up in arms: the 2p levy on existing non-residential properties with a rateable value of more than £50,000 in all 33 London boroughs and mayor Johnson’s proposal for what amounts to a compulsory section 106 levy at £19.80/sq ft on new development in central London.
There have been predictable objections to both from outraged retailers, who say the 2p levy will leave them uncompetitive, and from developers such as Land Securities, which faces a potential £20m bill for its Victoria Interchange scheme if Boris goes ahead with his plan.
Contributing factors
But is a contribution to Crossrail by the property industry so unreasonable?
When I was a minister desperately trying to get the Jubilee Line extension through the Treasury, the most difficult part of the negotiations was getting £400m over 20 years out of Olympia & York, the owner of Canary Wharf, as a contribution to the line. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that the developer was in administration at the time and effectively owned by a consortium of banks.
But those hard-nosed bankers could see that the Jubilee Line was a lifeline for London Docklands. They agreed to a net present value lump sum and the scheme went ahead.
Two lessons struck me. First, that there is no doubt whatever that transport infrastructure can transform the value of surrounding property where the job pool is massively magnified and business access is transformed. Docklands without the Jubilee Line would be nothing like the powerhouse it is now.
But what also impressed me was that while Canary Wharf’s owners paid up, and one or two small contributions trickled in, most of the property owners along the line got a massive benefit for free. And that simply can’t be right.
There is certainly an argument over whether properties in those boroughs that are not directly affected should pay. I personally proposed a scheme of 1 km circles around stations, within which a graduated charge would apply, but I admit that it is easier to say than deliver in law.
In any event, the estimates I have seen are that the 2p levy will add 1% to total occupancy costs so, while no charge is welcome, this one is not likely to be fatal and small businesses are by definition excluded.
On the mayor’s levy, one thing is clear: any extra costs imposed on development – particularly at this time – will be as much of a disincentive as Development Land Tax in all its forms always has been.
I have argued in this column before that, while it always looks attractive to charge new development for a variety of reasons, the reality is that any charge makes that development less likely. The mayor is taking a risk with his proposal because, if he sticks to his guns, I fear many developments that are already in rocky territory financially simply won’t happen.
Boris will be aware of Edmund Burke’s theory that ‘to tax and to please … is not given to men’. He may have to lower his ambitions, as shown by the Howick Place example – where, after a standoff with Terrace Hill over its development in London’s Victoria, he had to accept a fraction of the Crossrail contribution he had asked for.
Neither is the levy likely to win popular approval – but that those who benefit most from a scheme such as Crossrail should cough up some of the cost ultimately sounds fair.
Postscript :
Steven Norris is an adviser on transport and development to London mayor Boris Johnson
AADHIKARonline has taken the Steve Norris piece, below, from the web site cited:
http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=38&storycode=3134281&c=3
I disagree with Boris over the Crossrail levy
20.02.09
The politics of property
-
By Steven Norris
Last week this magazine covered the two proposals to raise money for Crossrail that have got the development community up in arms: the 2p levy on existing non-residential properties with a rateable value of more than £50,000 in all 33 London boroughs and mayor Johnson’s proposal for what amounts to a compulsory section 106 levy at £19.80/sq ft on new development in central London.
There have been predictable objections to both from outraged retailers, who say the 2p levy will leave them uncompetitive, and from developers such as Land Securities, which faces a potential £20m bill for its Victoria Interchange scheme if Boris goes ahead with his plan.
Contributing factors
But is a contribution to Crossrail by the property industry so unreasonable?
When I was a minister desperately trying to get the Jubilee Line extension through the Treasury, the most difficult part of the negotiations was getting £400m over 20 years out of Olympia & York, the owner of Canary Wharf, as a contribution to the line. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that the developer was in administration at the time and effectively owned by a consortium of banks.
But those hard-nosed bankers could see that the Jubilee Line was a lifeline for London Docklands. They agreed to a net present value lump sum and the scheme went ahead.
Two lessons struck me. First, that there is no doubt whatever that transport infrastructure can transform the value of surrounding property where the job pool is massively magnified and business access is transformed. Docklands without the Jubilee Line would be nothing like the powerhouse it is now.
But what also impressed me was that while Canary Wharf’s owners paid up, and one or two small contributions trickled in, most of the property owners along the line got a massive benefit for free. And that simply can’t be right.
There is certainly an argument over whether properties in those boroughs that are not directly affected should pay. I personally proposed a scheme of 1 km circles around stations, within which a graduated charge would apply, but I admit that it is easier to say than deliver in law.
In any event, the estimates I have seen are that the 2p levy will add 1% to total occupancy costs so, while no charge is welcome, this one is not likely to be fatal and small businesses are by definition excluded.
On the mayor’s levy, one thing is clear: any extra costs imposed on development – particularly at this time – will be as much of a disincentive as Development Land Tax in all its forms always has been.
I have argued in this column before that, while it always looks attractive to charge new development for a variety of reasons, the reality is that any charge makes that development less likely. The mayor is taking a risk with his proposal because, if he sticks to his guns, I fear many developments that are already in rocky territory financially simply won’t happen.
Boris will be aware of Edmund Burke’s theory that ‘to tax and to please … is not given to men’. He may have to lower his ambitions, as shown by the Howick Place example – where, after a standoff with Terrace Hill over its development in London’s Victoria, he had to accept a fraction of the Crossrail contribution he had asked for.
Neither is the levy likely to win popular approval – but that those who benefit most from a scheme such as Crossrail should cough up some of the cost ultimately sounds fair.
Postscript :
Steven Norris is an adviser on transport and development to London mayor Boris Johnson